YOU DESERVE TO RECHARGE, REST, AND SIMPLY BE
There are so many ways that stress and overwhelm can find us in life that we don't have to go looking for it. All it takes is waking up in the morning and checking our phones to be reminded of everything that is out of our control, from our personal lives to the world at large. It's a lot to try and take in, before a cup of coffee, and yet, that's where many of us find ourselves. Even if we try our best to not check our phones or to have more quiet time, we may still notice that lingering feeling that at any given moment, the stress and overwhelm are likely only going to get worse.
While I do not know the details of all the updates and notifications you receive and all of the responsibilities and tasks that are currently on your plate, I can tell you that it matters to cultivate spaces where you are able to rest and ease...even if it's just for a moment.
In the midst of life's busyness, it can be challenging to try and imagine what ease should be like. Rather than attempting to invent something from nothing, I want you to consider the time of day when you feel the most at ease. The few moments you have to yourself before all of your other roommates return from work could be all that's needed. Perhaps you have been purposefully choosing to eat alone during your lunch break. Maybe there aren't moments like that every day, but on Saturday mornings in the early hours before everyone else is awake, you can find them. I want you to take a moment to reflect on that location, wherever it may be. I want you to consider how it feels to simply be there.
Are you a little less tense now?
A tiny bit less anxious?
Does it simply feel liberating to do nothing at all?
Even if it's just for a matter of minutes, consider how it feels to be there the next time you are there. Consider how relaxing it is to take a deep breath, sip some tea, stretch, turn on a mindless TV show, or do anything else you normally do in that space, even if it's a brief period of time. As you consider this, consider how even though it can be a challenge to feel as though you deserve this, you do deserve this—and more of it. Despite the fact that there is a lot to do, you deserve more than just slivers of rest. You deserve to take the time you need to recharge, rest, and simply be.
The first step is awareness and realizing that you are deserving of that space. Depending on how your life currently stands, there may be many factors that need to be worked out before you can have more space. This is progress all on its own. Keep paying attention to the places in your life where you feel free to just be, knowing you are allowed to keep seeking out this space more in your life.
Word of the Day: Ease (n) "1: the state of being comfortable" (Oxford Languages)
Affirmation: I am free to pursue more rest and ease in my life.
Journal: What would it look like to create more ease in your life?
More in this week's series called "Beautiful Signs Of Progress", only with a subscription in the Storyteller App.
Sincerely,
Morgan Harper Nichols
@thestorytellerco
@morganharpernichols
