The power of a pause
June 10th, 2020 by Morna
You’ve spent the past three months either staying close to home, sheltering in place, or some variation of that. You’ve given yourself to others during this time. Perhaps you were unexpectedly homeschooling. Or caregiving in your home for someone who was sick. Or sharing your workspace with your spouse. Or just worrying about keeping your life and business going.
Add to that the racial and political turbulence that came to a head in the past couple of weeks. Perhaps you were one of the many who participated in peaceful protests over the weekend. Or maybe you simply paused social media on #blackouttuesday.
If you kept up with any of what has been going on in our world, you can see that it’s noisy. Emails, blog posts, podcasts, traditional news outlets.
I recently read that the “typical” person receives 120 emails a day. That same person spends 11 hours a day connecting online with media. On a daily basis, you can read 1,331 newspapers, listen to more than 550,000 podcasts, and read more than 2,000,000 blog posts.
It’s enough to give you a headache or more if you try to keep up.
While you may think you’ve paused during the pandemic timeframe, in all likelihood, you did not. Not if you kept up with the noise. You experienced many stresses “behind the scenes.”
For my part, I actually felt like I was waiting for the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back early this week. In addition to the two aforementioned contributors, my house was in disarray from painting and trying to downsize. I had a couple other house issues that contributed to my stress. I had some business deadlines. And, I felt so cut off from human contact and conversation, other than my husband and a couple of morning walking friends. I felt an entire smorgasbord of emotions running through my body.
For me, the way out was to acknowledge the stress and look for something to help alleviate it. I ended up meeting a friend for lunch — albeit a socially distanced lunch. This was the first time I’d really allowed myself to pause and take a break from what I consider my “now-regular world.”
That short pause was needed. That short pause was not enough.
It was a good reminder of the power of pausing in my life.
I need to do a better job of protecting my energy, and maybe you do, too.
Monday after my lunch, I took an evening walk with my husband and Button, our dog. I asked my husband what his blessings were for that day. When he finished, I started to recount mine. I had so many blessings that I realized that the camel waiting for the straw would wait a bit longer. That pause made the difference for me.
What can you expect from your pause?
As I said, I found my lunch pause powerful. I also said it wasn’t enough.
As I continue to add in more pause time, it will force me to slow down and create space. The benefit of space is that you start to see things from a different perspective. You can see where you are, what you want to do, where to make adjustments. It’s a reset and a restart.
You will not see these if you don’t honor the time for yourself.
Moving forward
As we move into creating what we might call our “new normal,” remember to add some “pause time” into your schedule. You may use that for getting away from the vast amount of media. Make time for your own art. Dance. Play music. Add a meditation practice. Add time for stillness and reflection. Spend time in the quiet space just being. It’s time for self-care.
As for me, this week, thanks to the FASTer Way to Fat Loss, I’m participating in a 21-Day Reset starting with a 5-day Fruits and Greens Smoothie Menu. I am keeping my focus on whole food nutrition. I’m making sure I get enough sleep. I’m getting the right amount of exercise. I’m spending time outside enjoying nature. I’m making art. And, I’m being grateful.
It’s your turn!
Do you need to add pause time into your life? How will you do that?
Love and light,
Morna
Tags: break, Mindset, selfcare, take a pause
Sandi Colwell said:
This is very timely. Today I was beating myself up on ‘wasting’ my quarantine time. Can you even believe that?!!! I spent the last few months with a husband working at the kitchen table (ugh) and two very sad ‘supposed to be graduating’ daughters, and another sad to be not away at school daughter, a mom that I did a lot of errands for, and I long armed almost daily. Why I think I should have done more escapes me.
Janice Pope said:
Hi Morna,
Thanks for writing this article. We do need a break. I was able to visit with family last Saturday away from home (my sister’s lake house) by hiring a care giver to stay with my Mother in Law who lives with us. It was a much needed break. Why I am so seldom think it is worthwhile to do this? I have no answer.
Annette recently suggested I watch on You tube the Grounding Movie. It was very enlightening and I think you would enjoy it too. I walked in my grass barefoot yesterday afternoon. It was very refreshing. I suggest you give it a try.
Morna said:
Sandi, isn’t it something that we do that to ourselves?! Thanks for adding to the conversation. You are not alone. We are each on our own personal journey. It’s important to remember that amidst the noise.
Morna said:
Janice, Thanks for your comments. I think all of us are so appreciative of the safe visits. I’ve saved the movie to watch. I just did walk barefoot in the grass. I do love go walk barefoot at the beach, but not often in my own backyard. I’ll let you know when I watch the movie.
Patty Sawyer said:
Timely…as I have decided to take the week for a little self-care after my dad’s death. I’m sleeping more and when I wake, I just take time to look out the window and enjoy the view. I’m spending time outside and gardening. I have not listened to the news or followed any social media. I’m finding it
gratifying but also there is a little nagging of guilt for those I have put off till next week. As the week rolls on, I’m finding myself getting a little anxious for all that I need to do to “catch up” from taking the time… why we can’t just enjoy the moment is a mystery! And what if things fall through the cracks? Well, I started a list…which brings some relief, but more anxiety too as the list is getting longer…one day at a time! Just Breathe!
Morna said:
I imagine that time off did you a lot of good, Patty. There will always be things to get done. You don’t always have time to care for yourself. Glad you found it.