Hygge & Sleep
Scripture: Matthew 5:13-20
You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored.
Jesus is telling us to stay salty. Of course, ‘salty’ may have a different meaning today than when Jesus was talking about it. Back then, salt was important every day. It seasoned food and preserved it for later. It was essential for health and healing. And while it’s valuable today, it’s not hard to find a Whole Foods Market with Pink Himalayan salt for a dish you’re cooking. Or to find flaky sea salt to top fresh baked bread.
So even though salt is something accessible we use every day, it’s still essential. It was so valuable that, at times throughout history, merchants were not always honest, some passing other white substances off as salt.
You are the salt of the earth means you are essential. You are valuable, and you are part of the everyday. You are extraordinary and ordinary.
Jesus is asking his community to remember what makes them essential and important in the everyday. To be centered on the values of the well-being of the whole community. He is saying if they lose their saltiness, they lose their heart, values, and vision, making them worthless.
So how do you stay salty?
Well, Jesus models this. He prays, he studies the ancient words that inspire his courage and compassion, he goes to the synagogue, he eats with his friends, he teaches and heals but he doesn’t just work all the time. He ends his shift. Even if folks are still in line for healing, he knows he cannot exhaust himself. He works his time and then goes to pray. He rests and relaxes. He even takes a nap while the disciples are trying to sail through a storm.
We live in a world where that can be hard to do. It was hard for Jesus too. Racing to keep up, make more, buy more, and get more done. Work hours can stretch from 50-60 hours per week or more. And getting enough sleep seems to be a major struggle. So major there is an entire industry ready to sell you the right mattress, pillow, supplements, blue light glasses, herbal teas, and aromatherapy. We need sleep so badly that we try to buy it.
Hygge Simplified says, “Get more sleep and Better Sleep! It’s easier said than done, but we all know that sleep is vital to health. Chronic issues with poor sleep can indicate an underlying condition, and it’s worth having that checked out. Take the time to actually get enough sleep. Try deep breathing, meditating, a hot bath before bed, and anything that will help you unwind. Since light from devices can be disruptive to our natural rhythms, power down the laptop and the phone an hour before turning out the lights, and let your mind disconnect from the day” (83).
Like I haven’t tried.
It all sounds wonderful, logical, and easy until we actually try it. Setting boundaries and putting yourself to bed is easier said than done. There are calming apps, sound machines, and even salt lamps to soothe you into sleep. And once you lay down, it can be hard to get your mind to lie down with you. The struggle is real. You might plan for eight hours of sleep, but when you can’t fall asleep on schedule, you stress about not getting enough sleep. It can be a frustrating cycle.
Author Katherine May learned that hibernating animals prepare their space and body for winter. When they settle in to hibernate, they lower their body temperatures and metabolism. But even in this elongated rest, hibernating animals have periods where they elevate their body temperatures, rev up their metabolism, and check in with their body before slowing back down. This deep sleep isn’t dead sleep. It isn’t an absolute sleep from start to finish as we might imagine. It involves checking in on how we’re doing and being intentional about how to proceed.
Historian A. Roger Ekirch writes about how much human sleep has changed over time in his work, At Day’s Close: Night in Times Past. Before we could flip a switch and light everything up, sleep wasn’t a block of eight hours. It was two periods. The English aptly called them first sleep and second sleep. And between them was the watch hour, a sacred space of contemplation and meditation. “Families rose to urinate, smoke tobacco, and even visit close neighbors. Many others made love, prayed, and . . . reflected on their dreams, a significant source of solace and self-awareness. In the intimacy of the darkness, families and lovers could hold deep, rich, wandering conversations that had no place in the busy daytime” (May 85).
Studies show that when we lose the artificial lights that abound in modern day, the ones that keep us working or playing into the night, our sleep patterns elongate. Rather than eight hours, we return to the patterns of first and second sleep. Study participants found the watch hour to be meditative and comforting, not a time of anxiety and counting how many hours of sleep escape you if you don’t fall asleep soon. It was peaceful, even being awake at night. Maybe our need for sleep is about more than the right tea and the right mattress. Maybe it’s about the ritual of turning off the lights. Maybe it's about us needing to tune into the world around us, to let the dark be dark and the light be light without so much artificial effort.
May wisely reminds us, “there is not enough night left for us. We have lost our true instincts for darkness, its invitation to spend some time in the proximity of our dreams. Our personal winters are so often accompanied by insomnia: perhaps we’re drawn towards that unique space of intimacy and contemplation, darkness and silence, without really knowing what we’re seeking. Perhaps, after all, we are being urged towards our own comfort. Sleep is not a dead space, but a doorway to a different kind of consciousness -one that is reflective and restorative, full of tangential thought and unexpected insights” (88).
Rest might be hard practice in our world of easy light and busy schedules, but it might be what we all truly need. Resting and centering make the work of the day attainable. Sleep makes our healing and well-being possible. That’s how we stay salty. And that’s why our sleep is more than just self-help – it’s the thing that allows us to help others. Because we can’t help anyone if we don’t take care of ourselves first.
May it be so. Amen.
Questions for Reflection:
When was the last time you felt truly rested?
What small practices might lead to more restful sleep?
Are there things that keep you up at night that you can let go of?
What could being well-rested create more room for in your life?
Looking for another lovely book about the Dark? Try Barbara Brown Taylor’s Learning to Walk in the Dark. It is magnificent.