“We are so busy!” That’s the general consensus amongst the people I spend time with the most. If you ask how they’re doing, you may get “Fine!” or “Boy, these allergies are killing me!” but a frequently repeated refrain is about how hectic their schedules are. Work, kids, and other obligations so often keep us hopping. Some, maybe even most, of what creates these busy lifestyles are legitimate responsibilities, but I can’t help but wonder if my inability to slow down is because I’ve created a monster, a Must Keep Moving Monster.

It’s like I’m the human equivalent of a concrete truck. If you’ve ever watched that drum mixer constantly rotating as the truck makes its way to a job site, then you know what I mean. Enroute to the destination, the spiral blades inside the drum churn the still-liquid mixture so that it stays the consistency of a chunky milkshake. Then when the truck arrives at the home or business in need of concrete, the blades are reversed so that the mixture gets sent down the chute. If the drum were to stop rotating too soon, the workers would have a difficult job cleaning out the hardened mess.

While that’s an ingenious way to pour a foundation, it’s not a healthy way for me to live. Just like I wouldn’t survive long inside that drum mixer, my body, mind, and soul need to seek out opportunities when I can just stop moving from time to time. This Monster which I’ve created has convinced me that if I dare to pause I’ll be confronted with a nightmarish mess.

There’s a word we see 74 times in the Bible, and 37 of those instances are found in writings from King David. To be honest, it’s a word I usually just skip over with no notice when I’m reading through the Psalms. It’s the word Selah. There’s some confusion about what this word means. Is it instruction for the singers, like forte or crescendo? Is it meant to divide sections of the text, to prepare the listeners for a transition in the emotions? When it comes at the end of a text, is it like our word Amen—a final “let it be so” we whisper at the close of a string of laments and petitions and praises? The answer to all these questions seems to be yes. This busy, little word does all of those things in our psalms, but Selah also encourages us to pause and listen. It reminds us to lift up the words of the psalms that we’re singing.

As we enter into this new season, a time of beauty and growth, let’s get out of our routines of constant motion and instead prioritize rest. I’m trying to be aware of how I spend my minutes, not because I need to be more efficient with my time, but because I need to slow down. I need to stop feeling the need to be entertained (I’m looking at you, cellphone!), and spend a few glorious moments each day basking in mindless boredom. Now that I think about it, that’s usually when the epiphanies come to me. My A-ha’s usually coincide with my Ho-hum’s.

If you want to try this, too, here’s a good starting spot to get your brain in the Selah mode. Psalm 143:5-6 says, “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah.”