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“Plenty of people miss their share of happiness. Not because they never found it but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it.” ~ William Feather

~

I’ve been feeling stuck, bored, and uninspired.

Even though there’s a lot happening, I have this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach that I cannot decode.

And that’s okay. Sometimes you just need to be. You need to let things be and simply flow with the tide and let the waters take you to where you need to be.

Sometimes you need to drop all resistance, effort, and get off this quest to make things happen.

At times, it’s about letting things happen on their own and at their own pace.

Earlier when I would get into such phases, I would worry that I’m not doing anything, I’m not being productive, and this productivity guilt would eat me up!

It’s only when I forced myself to slow things down and get off this insane roller coaster of constantly doing something that I truly realized the power of it.

When I did it intentionally for the first time, I found myself lying on a park bench on a beautiful morning, gazing at the vast sky, listening to the various sounds passing me by, and just drifting off into a relaxed slumber. It was in those moments that I saw how beautiful the sky actually was! The wind was soothing and the sounds enabled me to ground myself.

When I woke up, I felt renewed. I felt something within me had shifted. Since then, I have stopped resisting these moments where I feel I’m not driven to do much or even anything.

Over time, I have come to realise that these phases are important. Slowing down is important and so is not doing anything.

A lot of us are inherently not comfortable with the idea of “not doing” anything because it has been fed to us that we are as only valuable as the work we do. Only if we have something to show for our worth will we be considered worthy, and that’s why the mere thought of being idle provokes enormous amounts of anxiety.

But life is not about creating theories around our self-worth and then getting on this mission to prove or disprove those theories. Well, most of us do end up doing just that, and in the bargain lose out on the small yet significant moments of our time and life.

It’s about knowing and solidifying the sense that you exist and that’s all that matters. You are worthy because you exist and you don’t have to show anything for it.

But do we truly allow ourselves to be?

No. We are always running, chasing, doing, finding, seeking, looking for our sense of identity in people, places, events, and actions as if we’re some object in the lost and found section of life.

You can’t be upbeat, motivated, driven all the time, and if you are, then you are driven by fears and insecurities that just don’t let you rest, and when you don’t allow yourself to rest, don’t listen to your mind’s and body’s need to slow things down, you slowly start becoming a volcano that can erupt and explode at any time and cause damage to yourself, relationships, and other areas of your life.

You need these phases to reassess, recalibrate, and reconnect with who you are and where you want to be.

After all, we don’t come with batteries that can last an entire lifetime! We need to recharge and do it well so that we can enjoy this journey of life in whatever way we can.

So when our mind is tired and body is exhausted, we need to rest. When there is chaos in the head, we need to rest.

And this rest stems from security. The security of knowing that you are valuable and important in every passing moment and you don’t have to behave like a scientist in a research lab proving theories of your worth.

Your job is to know that you are enough and you simply need to embrace this enough-ness.

Security of self stems from knowing that you are enough just as is and can grow in any direction you choose because you have everything you need within.

So allow yourself to come home to yourself every once in a while. Drop the tags, lists, and plans, and just flow.

Rest in the security of your being because that is everything.

Here are some quotes that summarize the essence of this slowing down. Let me know which one tugs at your heart.

1. “Life is about balance. You don’t always need to be getting stuff done. Sometimes its perfectly okay and absolutely necessary to shut down, kick back and do nothing.” ~ Lori Deschene

 2. “Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast – you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.” ~ Eddie Cantor

3. “Slow down. Rushing means you miss what’s right here.” ~ Anonymous

4. “Find the peace that lives underneath the chaos, the doubt. If you can’t find it, slow down. Slow down a lot and let it find you. It will.” ~ Laura Levine

5. “Slow down and enjoy the journey right now. Take time for the people in our life. They won’t always be there.” ~ Joel Osteen

6. “Busyness is blinding. Slow down to see.” ~ Kate Kowalski

7. “Taking time to do nothing often brings everything into perspective.” ~ Doe Zantamata

8. “Life is a dance between making it happen and letting it happen.” ~ Arianna Huffington

9. “You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather.” ~ Pema Chödrön

10. “Don’t underestimate the value of doing nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear and not bothering.” ~ Pooh’s Little Instruction Book

Every once in a while—slow down.

It’s okay.

~

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