Slow Down

“I lied and said I was busy. I was busy but not in a way most people understand. I was busy taking deeper breaths. I was busy silencing irrational thoughts. I was busy calming a racing heart. I was busy telling myself I’m okay. Sometimes this is my busy.”

B. Oakman

A friend and I were zooming about her anxiety and grief. She told me that she was struggling to find meaning in her life. Recently retired, she speculated that perhaps after decades of being mind numbingly busy, maybe this new season of rest was waking up all the skeletons in her closet.

Disruptions in our routines can do that. Many of our routines are actually created to keep us perpetually distracted, numb and out-of-touch with ourselves. This short term solution is attractive but over the long haul? Not great.

Productivity addiction is like those weird diets we fall in love with - attractive for the immediacy of the relief but inevitably we return to our pre-carrots-only diet weight. Too hard to think of slowing down? I know. I feel you. But let’s try.