what it means to get rest
Aristotle argued that true leisure is self-reflection and philosophical contemplation is the highest of virtues and worth choosing for its own sake.
But today’s concept of rest is only designed as a means to recover from work, and doing more work upon returning to it. Anything outside of this framework is viewed as wasteful.
True state of rest involves accepting that there is no ideal state of perfect happiness, and that this is it. Filling our lives with expensive vacations filled with exciting activities is a never ending quest, because life always has more experiences which we cannot get around to doing. This mindset of vacation-chasing is in itself stressful and can often be devoid of meaning.
Instead, learning to love “atelic” activities - activities that have no end goal other than doing it for the sake of itself - like hiking - can be wonderfully rewarding.
If you feel uncomfortable when actually doing nothing during a period of true rest, it is a sign that you are doing it right.