It has and is common practice, especially in organic circles, to let a field go fallow for a season. If, for example, you had three 20 acre plots you were farming you would let one of these go fallow while you worked the other two. The concept is that the land needs to rest, or actually, do its natural thing for a while. Organic decomposition will happen, worms will burrow, rain water will soak deep and nutrients will revitalize. The soil will come alive again. Hence the purpose of letting a field go fallow for a season is to resurrect the vitality of the soil so that you can produce a healthier yield for a few years.
So this seems to be a constant in nature. Fields need a fallow seasons, bears need to hibernate, and even bees take breaks when it is cold or raining. Every animal sleeps, every insect is dormant during parts of the year. Rejuvenation is part of the cycle of life. So why is it that we humans aspire to work all the time? In fact we are not even considered cool unless we are demonstrating our ability to work 12X7 with as little as sleep as possible. “I will sleep when I am dead,” says the braggart business man to the next. We must realize that this is complete folly. Rest, Recover, Rejuvenation is part of our very nature, and to fight it is a exercise in futility.
You see here is the deal. Nature will get its due. You may think you can cheat the system, that you can take less sleep, or work extra hard that you are superior in some way. Reality is this. Nature will force the issue, one way or another. I think it is better to schedule your fallow time rather than have it imposed upon you against your will. You see many people in the high performer category think that they can function by turning on the switch. Unfortunately, to keep up with elevated expectations that you set for yourself you have to borrow from fallow time frequently which has consequences!
You need fallow time. Focus on that. Make that a priority and see how your long term vitality improves.
Guy Reams
