Sustain

The Sahara desert in Morocco. When I visited the desert I definitely felt a moment of peace.

I was clearing out some old magazines and the theme for one of them was “Sustain” and it has stuck with me all week.

I’ve been dealing with some heavy stuff and this need to do more, get things done, and frantically clean has been riding me hard. Mainly because if I were to stop and just be, then I’d have to feel my feelings.

I don’t do well in the just sitting and being zone. Except that’s where I need to be right now. That word sustain felt about right. I need to sustain myself, Sweetie and the plants. I need to sustain at work. I need to sustain my life coaching business. The reality is that is all I have in me right now. And that’s ok.

I know many of us are dealing with depression or anxiety, a lot on our plate, daily stress levels through the roof, or some difficult family situations. How do we give ourselves the grace to just be?

Some of the things I have been trying to do is just give myself some space to sit with the feelings. I have a lovely bay window in the living room that feels a bit like being in a tree house and I just sit and watch the trees. I’ve been letting myself sleep in a bit. Ok, sometimes more than a bit. I’ve cooked myself nourishing comfort food. My mom used to make chicken paprikash when I was a kid so I made myself a big batch but swapped out the chicken for portobello mushrooms. I give in to the franticness and tackle a project in the house.

I realize that I have freedom to do many of those things because I am only responsible for myself and a small bunny. It may be more challenging if you are responsible for other living human beings, but are there ways you can sneak in some extra rest or a favorite food?

How do you simply sustain where you are at today? Let go of the pressure to do more or grow. This does not mean you will cease doing things that support your mental health but maybe let go of the pressure to be at a different point in your life.

I’m in a season of grief and it’s ok to hit the pause button. It seems a bit contrary to the flowers popping up and the birds chirping outside but I’ll just be over here learning to be.

Where do you feel you could use some sustaining energy in your life today?