One of the things we are doing at United Way this year as a cost-saving measure is to spend down our accrued vacation time. (The company has to keep that money in abeyance just in case we all decide to use all our vacation time at once.) So I did my duty last week and spent some time in Toronto. I know—life is rough.

While my mind is still in its Toronto-induced relaxation mode, I thought I’d share some passages from my vacation book.

In the relentless busyness of modern life, we have lost the rhythm between work and rest.

A “successful” life has become a violent enterprise. We make war on our own bodies , pushing them beyond their limits; war on our children, because we cannot find enough time to be with them when they are hurt and afraid, and need our company; war on our spirit, because we are too preoccupied to listen to the quiet voices that seek to nourish and refresh us; war on our communities, because we are fearfully protecting what we have, and do not feel safe enough to be kind and generous; war on the earth, because we cannot take the time to place our feet on the ground and allow it to feed us, to taste its blessings and give thanks.

The whole experience of being alive begins to melt into one enormous obligation.

The Chinese pictograph for “busy” is composed of two characters: heart and killing.

Speed and accomplishment, consumption and productivity have become the most valued human commodities.

Remember that everything you have received is a blessing. Remember to delight in your life, in the fruits of your labor. Remember to stop and offer thanks for the wonder of it.

Sabbath honors the necessary wisdom of dormancy.

Those quiet Sunday afternoons are embedded in our cultural memory, even if they are no longer practiced.

During the Sabbath, we set aside a sanctuary in time, disconnect from the frenzy of consumption and accomplishment, and consecrate our day as an offering for healing all beings.

So that when we go forth to heal the wounds of our world, whatever we build, create, craft, or serve will have the wisdom of rest in it.

The human spirit is naturally generous; the instant we are filled, our first impulse is to be useful, to be kind, to give something away.

Some form of Sabbath time is practiced by Jews and Christians, by Buddhists and Muslims, Hindus and native tribes around the world.

All the quotes are from Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest, by Wayne Muller. Muller draws on traditions and practices in Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, and others to emphasize the importance of rest in work-life balance. It is . . . deeply satisfying.

Enough rest.  Now, about Toronto—three cool things: