Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.
Ovid
Are you giving yourself sufficient light, air, rest and play?
I was out working in my garden this morning. The tomato plants had gotten quite bushy. This was preventing the fruits from ripening –the nutrients were being dispersed to too many stalks. I cut back the leaves to allow more air and light to get into the center and lower part of the plant. It was as if I could hear the plant giving out a big exhale and saying, ‘I can finally breathe now. Thank you.’
It reminds me of how we sometimes live our lives. We fill our days with so many activities that we forget to breathe. We feel overwhelmed and exhausted yet we cannot figure out why. We haven’t stopped to see that our current pace of living is slowly suffocating us. We have not allowed ourselves any time to rest and breathe. We do not have sufficient air or light. Just as my tomato plants were struggling to thrive, we are too. Just as I had to cut back some of the leaves and stalks of my plants; we too have to cut back on some of our activities.
The trick is not to cut back simply to fill that space with some other activity. The purpose is to cut back mindfully. What can I remove from my schedule – what is more of a should than a want? What can I do that will really fill me up during that time? Take a nap, read a book, write, take a walk, meditate, dance, meet a friend for coffee? Really check in with yourself to see what your soul is longing for to ensure whatever you do gives you a sense of ease. If this is challenging for you, try scheduling it in, not as another thing you have to do, but as a reminder that play is just as important as work.
Experiment to see what works for you. When you are feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, your body is telling you that something needs to change. Stop to listen. Ask yourself, what can I do that would lighten this load? What would help me feel me more at ease? What is one thing that I really love to do that I could do today? Make a list. Use this list as a reference when you are feeling stuck. Then see if you can do one thing from your list of things you love to do every day. Again, with the sole purpose of supporting you in taking time to rest or play not as another obligation.
The goal is to free you up not hold yourself down with more to-do’s. This is the mindset to act from – one that feels expansive. Choose what you want to do from that space. Notice the shift in energy from restrictive to expansive. That is what you are creating. Space. Rest. Air. Light. Breath.
What can you do today to rest, to play, to breathe?
Sending you luxurious naps, heartfelt laughs, and deep rest,
Kori