The Practice Of Stillness
Feb 19, 2024View this post on Instagram
Lately I've found myself battling ego stories of action, productivity and "doing enough".
It's like a pressure that hovers over me feeding unsolicited advice, urging me to push forward and comparing my path to what others are achieving.
In contrast to the mental chatter, I notice my body begging me to slow down. It has another priority: the need for rest.
My mind is quick to chime in, scolding: "Why do you need rest for, you haven't even done anything!"
So I get up in the morning, write out my to-do list and set out to hit my goals and milestones for the day. This is not a new practice... In fact, it's the way I've always done things at school, work, life.
It's a hustle mentality, it's push energy, it's creation through brute force. And if my energy ever dips, there's always coffee to save the day.
It's 1am and my eyes are wide open. Mind still buzzing, anticipating what needs to be done the next day, how to use the week most effectively, when I'll finish my hitlist.
The motivation? Fear of failure. Fear of falling behind. Fear of not reaching my potential.
Fear of not contributing enough to the world.
The stories roll on...
How funny that even in the healing and spiritual field, we can be driven by such a harsh and unrelenting taskmaster.
My lesson this week is to honour the cycle of seasons.
To recognise there is an art to rest.
And practice stillness, not from a place of exhaustion, stagnation or burnout.
But as a valid and intentional moment of recalibration that restores and recoils our inner power for the upcoming Springtime.
If your body is calling for rest, here's an invitation to claim it without judgement, guilt or shame.
Happy resting π
πππ
