“There is more to life than increasing its speed.” – Mohandas K. Gandhi
This post is dedicated to my readers who cannot relax, and take the time to just sit and be still. For some reason, and you know who you are, you seem to think that to actually stop moving and not do ten things at one time means you’re not being productive or society will deem you lazy. Unfortunately, this is particularly true for my female readers out there who have been conditioned to be everything and “perfect” so they constantly juggle a million things!
Well, I’m telling you it’s OK to relax and slow down. Stop beating yourself up! Do you wonder why you’re feeling stressed out, and are exhausted and unhappy? It’s because you are! You need to refresh your soul and stop worrying about tackling too many things or being all things to all people.
In fact, this quote expresses it perfectly: “Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” (J. Lubbock)
I know people who have never even taken one week’s vacation in years, and then they wonder why they’re tired, running around in circles and still not achieving their goals. Well, did you ever think that by constantly running and “moving forward,” you are actually not taking the time to plan and map out your future steps? Ironically, you think you’re moving forward, but really you’re just spinning wheels and wasting your time and being counter-productive. Can you imagine if you actually stopped, renewed your mind, found another perspective, and took the time to figure out what you really wanted to do next?
I equate it to writing an essay. Those who form outlines are usually more succinct in communicating all the necessary points. Yes, it takes extra time in the beginning to write the outline – to really stop and think about how you want to organize your thoughts and write a great paper. But, those with outlines generally write better essays than those who just dive right in and begin to write the paper without any thought as how it’s going to be organized or what they want to say.
So, relax already. It’s just fine to stop and smell the roses.
With that thought, I’m off to Cancun next week! I’ll be sending blog posts from sunny Mexico… with hopes that lots of relaxation time will help me write even more insightful blog posts! Hasta la vista!
No Ugly Duckling 