Why so many reminders on this site to practice slower living, carve out moments for stillness, and rest more as you are able? Your interiors, both literal and figurative really do matter. Self-kindness doesn’t just benefit you. Hustling takes a toll on the collective as well. This could easily become a politically-charged rant about capitalism, but don’t we consume our fair share elsewhere? I’ll keep things personal and confessional as a work in progress.
Rest, Healing and Self-Kindness
Too often I equate my need for rest with weakness and sloth and measure my worth according to productivity.
Where do fears about slow and steady living originate anyway? Who am I competing with…my younger self? Could my choices become more empowering choices?
Few answers here. To be clear-headed enough to even entertain them, this girl needs a good night’s rest and a relatively settled nervous system!
I don’t know what your sleepless judgment looks like, but mine can be emotionally weird and negative.
I’m a better instrument of peace and channel for grace with sufficient REM. Restfulness allows my heart’s posture to stay soft and open.
Slowing the Pace
A slower pace is healthier. If I’m rushing or even multi-tasking (rarely wise), adrenaline is released into the bloodstream, and my body goes into fight or flight.
I need more rest at this age, but I’m often in denial, comparing my output to what I could accomplish decades ago.
How many years did I feel fierce about an ability to save the world daily? Fully in my head, I couldn’t see the value of self-compassion or kind self-talk. (Psst. Cells in your body are listening to every unkind word.)
Saving the world today looks like stillness and prayer.
Right where I am, I’m untethering from old narratives about not accomplishing enough in my work, relationships, community, and wellness.
If I’m having a good day as far as autoimmune issues, if my joints and gut feel pretty darn good, shouldn’t I do all the things?
The old me took the gift of a good health day and spent it on work or physically demanding tasks. Instead of abundance and gratitude, a sense of scarcity would surface. After all, I reasoned it could be a long stretch for this level of ease to return.
Thank goodness I’m changing. Absence of pain…a calm from the storm…need not always require deep sacrifice. I can enjoy the reprieve without milking it for everything it offers.
It’s okay to sink into a settled posture. Worries of “it won’t get done” can be quieted.
What if I get cozy with such ease and welcome radical receptivity to grow? I’m experimenting. Experimentation is not the same as faking it.
While I have some theatrical background, I’m still hopeless faking it because it can feel like a strategy to control and manipulate, and I long for the authentic.
Even the idea of do it while afraid (which is not faking and used to fit) is less enticing. Dismantling fear and growing in faith are calling.
I’m only now learning how emotions are physical sensations in the body and not mental experiences. It’s probably no coincidence that my body struggles to metabolize both emotions AND food.
Our culture reinforces us to manage grief and anxiety cognitively. I’m a trained psychotherapist…what progress is possible when sessions are not exclusively devoted to wound excavation and include time for spiritual direction and a restorative nap?
Rest is essential for cleansing the brain and cellular health, and since the body holds emotion, why not acknowledge the healing advantage of organic sleep therapy?
I know many of you learned this stuff long ago and hardly need my reminders. Baby steps for this late bloomer. Find me on the prairie: pacing myself, feeling less guilt, and making little dents in a slew of projects that remain unfinished. Also find me sleeping seven hours straight after two years of steady deprivation.
Can I keep sleeping when I return to the desert?
Mountain medicine will work magic I’m sure.
The to-do list will shorten so more restful healing can be built into the days.
Restful healing?
I’ll walk distances and pray every single day. Walking can be meditative, and when you start praying for the world, the prayer stretches wide. I’ll read and write about joy and suffering.
I’ll keep noticing the breath. Here is your reminder to check your breathing. If you’re holding your breath, notice. Gentle inhale, gentle exhale. Every morning will include spiritual practice. (If mornings are when you practice, we’ll be in a contemplative space together!) I’ll work on relinquishing the strong needs to be understood and to understand. Gurrrl, I need prayer to let them go!
I’ll write songs and sing to free my spirit. A volume of titles now! I’ll fully inhabit where I stand. I won’t rush the process, and I’ll rest.
Thank you for reading. I appreciate you and love to sprinkle seeds of faith and beauty here even when it all feels like a strange mystery.
Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
I independently selected products in this post—if you buy from one of my links, I may earn a commission.
Thanks for shopping HERE to keep free timeless interiors inspiration, lifestyle, and real life renovation flowing.
Hello Lovely is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
