Happy Fall!! Here in New York, we had our first truly chilly day today, and it really made me want to curl up with a book and a huge pot of tea, and put off all the work I had to. I obviously couldn’t quite make that happen today, but the feeling reminded me that I need to slow down, chillax, and take some time for myself.
Over the last month, I have spent weekends hanging out with family in Long Island, doing yoga in the park, and apple picking in the Catskills. I’ve gone camping upstate, traveled to San Francisco to hang out with some of my closest friends, and to Sonoma for a game-changing retreat for women who want to leave their mark on the world. I’ve taken a floral design class, gone to the symphony, seen two great bands, and had some ridiculously delicious dinner’s out in the city with my hubby. All this with a totally full counseling practice, an online program I’m launching this winter, and my first cookbook in the works.
When I stop to think about it, it’s been a really amazing month!! So why do I still have that nagging incomplete feeling?
I realized that in all the fall-fueled excitement and go-go-go, I haven’t stopped to process, integrate, and really ENJOY everything I’ve accomplished and have in the works!
To really process everything in our lives, we need to slow down and give ourselves room to breathe, integrate, and get inspired. {Tweet it!}
I know for me, the fastest road to overwhelm, stress, and burnout is not giving myself time to take it all in. And that doesn’t mean a Grey’s Anatomy marathon in my pajama’s! (Which is what I did yesterday morning, in an attempt to slow down). To really slow down, we can’t just fill ourselves with more stimulation, more distraction. Going out with friends, watching TV, or even reading doesn’t do the trick. What we need is quiet, calm, reflection–what the Buddha called “noble silence.” Taking even just 15-20 minutes out of your week (or better yet, each day!) to take a long walk down a beautiful street (with your phone turned off), to curl up and daydream, to meditate or draw, to sit in the park by yourself and just be… These are the truly rejuvenating, re-inspiring, and relaxing moments of integration that fuel us for the next round of craziness which is inevitably around the corner.
Give it a try! Share your experience in the comments and tell us what your moment of noble silence felt like, and how it re-inspired you to keep going to new heights in your life, relationships, work, and self. Try to make it a regular practice in your life, and notice how it effects your feelings of being overwhelmed by all there is to do.
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