I feel like crap – I have COVID – and I’m grateful I have it. Does that sound crazy? Let me explain. This is the first time I’ve rested in 6 months. I wouldn’t have rested on my own without COVID invading my system and MAKING ME STOP. Yep. Crazy. And yet, how many of us play this game?
Let me go back to where it began. I love to travel, I love my work; I love my family and I love my friends. Apparently, I love to experience all of this, every day, without rest. Are you working long days serving in your nonprofit/company/family, making sure folks have a place to sleep at night, or people get the mental health services they desperately need and deserve? Are you staying up late with a child only to get up early to exercise and make it to work on time? Did you work a 60-hour week and then go out with dear friends Friday and Saturday nights? Fun but exhausting. Or maybe you traveled and in trying to get out of town, you put in extra hours at the office or at home with the family to fully travel without looking at emails every day. Then came back after your fabulous travel to a host of issues, client needs, and a billion emails. I see you; I am you!
This last month our daughter was married and moved out of town. We hosted events that were surrounded by family and friends and celebrated love. Two weeks later, we dropped our youngest off at college; we tucked her in, cried, and worried. Before my travel, I attended meetings and crammed client work in so as to not let anyone down. I also made sure I visited my mother, who has dementia. I checked in on a friend transitioning out of a horrible workplace into a dream job, attended a gala, toasted good fortune, traveled for training and fun, exercised, and made meals. You know, lived the “busy/full” life. Don’t get me wrong. I’m NOT complaining, I am just wondering where I rest. Life is so short, and there are so many fabulous things to experience, transformations to support, things to learn, people to serve, places to visit, people to love. And here I sit with COVID because I was never going to stop on my own.
Lessons Learned From COVID
Guess what I’ve learned this week? The world and its people can survive while I rest and take care. I cancelled 3 days of work to lay in bed, sleep, drink tea, watch fluffy TV shows and movies that made me laugh and cry. You know what else? I’ve had time to think, to re-imagine and to restructure. Life IS too short. How do I want to live it? With more ease and with less COVID. I don’t want to wait for a crappy illness to take me out of the game. I want to choose when I take time to dream and create, rest, and re-energize, so I can serve clients, friends and family in a healthy way (not quarantined).
Will you end up being grateful for COVID, or will you stop by choice, take the time to reorient, rest, and re-energize, so you too can serve the people who matter most? The world and its people will survive while you rest and take care.
Share below an immediate action you will take to stop by choice.
I love this, Linley, even though it took COVID to slow you down! My recent ‘rest’ example is we were scheduled to go on vacation to Mexico next week, but due to my mother-in-laws illness, we had to cancel the trip. I briefly thought I would just have a normal work week and save my vacation time, but quickly decided instead to still take the week off and pretend I’m in Mexico with no cell service, not checking email or answering calls. AND THEN a dear friend reached out to see if she can come visit, so now we get to spend the week enjoying each other’s company with no distractions!
Rest As Resistance is a book I’ve shared with my staff, and each week I pick a Rest Deck card to read at staff meetings. Lesson learned….it’s ok to rest and recharge, no matter how/what life throws us!
Opps, typed my name wrong!
Hope you’re feeling better Linley! Maybe take a few extra days even after you’re better! 🙂
I find transitioning to retirement rooted in the same issues. We’re so used to go go go, I find it hard to take a beat. But I’m working on it!