When The Universe Wants You To Slow Down

It starts in your bones. Waves of uncertainty. Creaking. Crying. Tired.

You feel lost and confused; as if you’re just going through the motions of the days and one day feels as long as ten. You lose track of time, you waste your time, you don’t spend it wisely making the best use of it.

Your body betrays you. You feel ill, something always hurts or aches. You lay awake at night praying to the sandman to bring you some sleep but you just can’t. Your mind replays all of your tasks one by one that you have yet to complete. Your dreams have become a running to do list, a visual representation of your anxiety and the stress produced by your life.

You can’t remember the last time you stayed home and took a break. A real break. You take a look at your planner and stress out about filling your days with events and activities and pencil in the time to work on your projects and passions. Where is the time to take care of you?

“But I am taking care of myself,” you think. By doing the things you love and seeing the people you love, that’s you loving yourself…right?

It can be. But not at the expense of your health. Not at the expense of your mental stability. Not at the expense of sleep and food.

Slow down. Seriously, slow down. When you are at your best you can do your best. Having a “go go go” attitude is great but everyone needs to be reminded sometimes to stop. Being tired doesn’t mean you’re a quitter, it just means you need a rest break. The more you give yourself the time to recuperate, the more you will be able to put energy effectively into the things and people that matter to you most.

Let your soul rest. Let it sleep. Let it breathe. Take a moment to just enjoy the presence of those around you. Breathe in. Breathe out. Smell the fresh air. Enjoy your favorite meal. Put away the planner. Put away the plans. When the days run together, you need to slow down. When the days run together, you need to re-evaluate your priorities. This is the universe telling you to take a breather, to be great at a few things and not okay at a lot of things.

Listen to the universe. Listen to your tired, creaking bones. Let your soul rest. Let it grow back that glow.