“Give yourself the time to move through the initial awkwardness, even a sense of fear or guilt that arises with open-ended time you can sink into, rather than more busyness disguised as unwinding.”
It has been a hectic week. Lots of driving, meetings, rushing out the door feeling so pressed for time that my jacket falls from my full arms into the flower bed. I run towards my car, keys clanging as I throw bags in the trunk, slam doors shut, roar out of the driveway; an oddity on what is really just another peaceful blue sky day in the Santa Cruz mountains with birds chirping from the branches of tall, bright green needled pine trees.
Today is Saturday. I planned the day to be blank, to unwind. “What do I want to do?” my mind wonders, almost slightly anxious about making the right decision. “Walk on the beach? Go to a café?” It seems like I feel the need to do something to make the day special in order to unwind, yet my body is fatigued. I’m processing from all the events of the week. I don’t actually really know what I want to do.
Keep it simple and don’t let trying to unwind actually make you busy.
I remember how much nicer it is to let the way I spend my day happen naturally and spontaneously, without making a conscious choice. At first I feel the awkwardness of letting myself not “do anything of consequence”. I look out at the sunny tree tops feeling a little lost because I don’t have plans or anyone to share at least part of my day with. Yet I know I’m doing the right thing. [Read more…] about How to Unwind When The Stress Gets Too Much
It takes time to know who you truly are, especially if you want to lift the veils of superficial perception to peer below into the depths of your soul. Such a concept is daunting for some, and not such an obvious thing to do for many, as it’s easy to get swept up by the overall impression we have built up of ourselves over the years. Yet our own impressions of ourselves are often flawed by self-judgment and distorted memories.
I’m having a crazy, zany December, but what’s new? December is the most bizarre month of the whole year, and try as you might, it’s hard to make it any different. In this season of the light, I have been so busy I nearly lost my sense of light altogether. What with a sudden rush of work as well as early shopping to send gifts off to my family in England, making gifts, attending concerts, gatherings and parties, my need for quiet, reflective time flew right out the window.