In this opening episode, I ask a question that lives quietly in the bones of many of us: Is rest a privilege? Drawing from my own journey of burnout, displacement, and creative resurgence, I explore how rest has been withheld, feared, and—eventually—reclaimed.This episode is not a prescription. It’s a soft invitation to examine your relationship with rest:Do you allow it? Do you resist it? Has rest ever felt unsafe, indulgent, or impossible?Whether you’re an artist, activist, scholar, or simply weary from the weight of expectation—this space is for you. Let this be a moment to pause, breathe, and begin to listen… deeply.If this episode stirred something in you—a remembering, a reclaiming—let it be enough.You don’t need to do more to deserve rest.You don’t need to become someone else to be loved.And if you’re longing to go deeper into rest, healing, and visibility—Join me for my upcoming live program Break Free from Burnout, beginning August 10.You can email me at shumaila@deeplisteningpath.ca to learn more.Watch out for my forthcoming memoir:Writing in the Wound: Acculturation, Trauma, and Music—a journey through displacement, systemic erasure, and the power of music and deep listening to heal. https://www.deeplisteningpath.caa/writing-in-the-woundAnd if you’d like a preview, my introductory critical essay is now live on Academia.edu.It offers a deeper lens into the emotional and structural violence of belonging, and how we reclaim voice beyond status. https://www.academia.edu/142980877/Listening_to_the_Wound_Acculturation_and_Voice_Amidst_the_Trauma_of_Erasure#mindfulnesspractice #calmyournervoussystem #restoration #rest #burnout #deeplistening #neuroplasticity