There is a custom which, due to the physical and mental benefits it brings, has since time immemorial become a universal practice. Although it is considered to be a Spanish invention, it is practised all over the world. It is said that there is still a lot of research to be done on its beneficial effects.
I am referring to the siesta, the act of sleeping for a short period of time during the day. Normally this extra rest is taken after the midday meal. There is also another nap beforehand; it is called the ram’s nap. In fact, when the shepherds, after walking all morning, found a good pasture, they would rest for a while while the goats ate. After this rest, it was time for them to have lunch.
There is an enormous variety of ways of practising the siesta. As they are listed in Google, it is not worthwhile to present the infinite modalities of the popularly known “Iberian yoga”.
The custom of sleeping for a while to rest and thus face the rest of the day with the necessary strength is a good invention. The word “siesta” has its origins in the Roman “sexta” hour corresponding to 12 noon with respect to the sun, around 14:00 today. It was the time when monks took a break from their daily chores to rest and recharge their batteries. People like Albert Einstein sang of its advantages and Winston Churchill, who learned the custom in Cuba, was an enthusiastic devotee and propagandist of it. Our Nobel Prize winner, Camilo José Cela, extolled the noble art of the siesta, assuring that it should be done “with pyjamas, the Lord’s Prayer and a chamber pot”.
For a person’s life, rest is not a luxury, nor is it necessarily related to laziness. On the contrary, it is a vital necessity without which we do not recover our lost strength. Napping is therefore another tool that allows us to return to work invigorated. That is why it is beneficial to take a nap.
Today we urge people to work – if they get a job – but not so much to work well. I fear that even we priests confuse people a bit by explaining to them that God stopped creating on the sixth day and that on the seventh day – when he did nothing but love – he did not continue to create anything. This is not exactly the case: God loved by working at creating and then rested by loving more. He knows his creatures well. When he invites us to work with him, he knows that our nature is fragile and brittle. His call to work includes the need for rest. As is clear from the creation story, the alternation between work and rest, which is inherent in human nature, is willed by God himself. But if there is only rest, life will be as hollow as a suit on a rack. Let us continue to defend our right to take a siesta for more love and service – the noblest of work.
Juan Carlos cmf
(PHOTO: Andrés Gómez)
