The Grind

[457 words] “Back to the grind” is a transitional phrase bridging a brief or extended period of relaxation to the resumption of laborious or repetitive activity. Numerous studies have shown that taking breaks increases focus and productivity. Yet, experience teaches us that it can be difficult to get moving again after a period of rest. The mind must be convinced or the body will not follow. This is why Monday is seldom our favorite day of the week and why it is so challenging to get back into the swing of things after a vacation. Getting back into the grind is likely an expression that takes us back to simpler times when people used millstones to grind their grain into flour. So important were these to the livelihood of the people that it was forbidden in the Law of Moses to take someone’s handmill or upper millstone as a pledge…