Have you ever reached your breaking point?
That point in which you feel as if anything else on your plate might just in fact cause catastrophic failure?
That was me…
And it snuck up on me. Others told me it would happen. I think that in my heart I also knew it was on the horizon. But at the heart of it, the cumulative build-up from everything (mostly good things, even) had me overwhelmed and stretched thin. Mentally and emotionally.
I don’t know about you…
But that picture seems to be getting more and more common in our society that runs at breakneck pace with full-on hurry. Does this sound familiar?
I like to talk about the false sense of urgency- that thing that runs in the background of our mind constantly telling us we SHOULD be doing this. We should be doing that. Always so many shoulds. And as Mark Recker, the famous dentist/ theologian always taught me- don’t should on yourself. It gets messy. For more on the False Sense Of Urgency, check out my book page and pick one up!
Through all of the things I had June 28 on my calendar…
It was there after two graduations, grad parties, showers, a bachelor party, and a wedding. Like I said, all amazing things. But all heavily emotional things as our oldest son Blake got married on June 10 and we were facing down the prospect of an empty nest in August. Just as an aside… date your spouse. When the empty nest thing happens, you want that relationship to be amazing!
Let me just say there has been a lot of hurry. A lot of urgency. And then an adrenaline drop off after the wedding.
My eyes gravitated…
As we planned for our trip, my eyes gravitated to The Relentless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. I had read it before but felt called, as I was packing for our trip to Park City, Utah, to take it along. I read it on the way out. It spoke to me in a very new way.
My soul craved the slowdown that Comer suggests. But it didn’t happen right away. I was still caught up in the urgency and my body had a hard time letting go. But I stepped away from social media and limited email. I slowed down. Laughed with my family. Rested. Exercised in nature. Experienced life. Pushed my body to limits on the mountain. You know… vacation stuff.
And the funny thing is…
Right on cue… about day 4 my soul felt like it started to wake up. The urgency went away (mostly) and I felt and experienced life. It had been awhile.
I even cried during a movie…
And it had been awhile. A true sense of where I am emotionally and spiritually is how my emotions show up. I have to be rather relaxed to truly feel a movie.
The feeling of my soul waking up was truly amazing. And now, as I write this on the flight home, I don’t want it to end. But here’s the thing- life will continue to go on. We will battle urgency and hurry. That is the world we live in…
But we have a choice…
We don’t have to let it be our reality all the time. We can unplug. We can step away from social media for a day or a week. We can put a limit on email for a short season or even a day. And do some things that push the urgency away. Things like a vacation, a staycation, a day trip to a favorite place, a quiet retreat, or if you are due or overdue, a week away from the hurriedness of life. Even a few hours of quiet or reading or quiet contemplation can do wonders for our soul. And if you have vacation time… USE IT! Take care of you. Don’t let urgency win without a fight!
Life will always try to get us to hurry. Life will always push us towards urgency. What we do with it is our choice.
June 28 was worth the wait. Next time I hope to not wait so long…
If you are feeling overwhelmed by the rush or life and want to talk about strategies to slow down and live more in the moment, I would love to have a conversation. Check out my coaching page for more info.
And… as always… don’t forget to #WINtheNOW.
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