Relaxation – The Weekly Sparkle

“Let yourself rest.”

If you’re like me, you’re not very good at being sick. While I’d love to tell you that I’m someone who has a perfectly balanced life, filled with feelings of full accomplishment and getting plenty of sleep, the reality is, most times I find myself to be the person burning the candle at both ends. Every once in a while, this all catches up to me, and my body won’t allow me to keep going in the manor in which I’ve been pushing. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

So here I was, plugging, plugging and plugging away at work life, home life and all-the-life-in-between, and I just needed to stop and rest. Ever get so sick that your body will literally not allow for you to keep going? That was this girl right here. Even as my sickness rapidly knocked me down, I tried fighting it and refused to believe I was getting sick.

Why do we do that?

Seriously… why the heck do we do that?

I’ll tell you why I do—— society (friends, our job, strangers around us, social norms), all show us that we should be go-go-go, and if we stop and take a break, we’re lazy, or we’ll be passed by the person who refuses to stop.

I have literally thought when sick or needing a rest, “Ugh but I could be doing __________ or ________. I wanted to get ________ done. I need to get _________ to _________before _______. All things that could wait until you’re feeling better… but we tell ourselves we should be getting done now! And when I’m in go-go-go mode, I know I’m not living my healthiest life. I’m not drinking enough water, exercising, putting healthy foods in my body— that’s all out the window, because I have something better and more important I need to take care of. (I just rolled my eyes at myself as I typed that).

What is more important that your physical and mental health?

Nothinngggggggggggggggggggggg.

I got to the point 2 weeks ago when I was sick (I think I had a strand of the flu… fever, chills, cough, wheezing, etc.), where I legit made a deal with God. Yes, I was so ill I was talking aloud to the Big G, and I said, “God, if you could help take this illness away from me, I promise to never take advantage of my health again.” I know, super dramatic, but truthfully, it’s how I felt. When you’re taking a bunch of meds, using an inhaler to breathe and keeping your husband and dog up all night, you start to think, ooookkkkkkk how can I help this to never happen again??? Of course, you can’t help the germs floating around us, but there is plenty of things I could change in my life to help lesson my chances of getting sick like this. (Ever hear of vitamins Aurora??)

The biggest lesson of all here though, is that: It Is OKAY To Rest. It’s 100% OKAY. It’s okay to unplug, take time from work, lay on the couch (and binge watch Queer Eye on Netflix) and relaxxxxxxxxxx. If your body or your mind need it, you need to listen.

Have you had an experience similar to mine? What did you say to yourself when you finally stopped and allowed yourself to rest? Did you talk to the Big G like me?

Thanks for reading friends, and wherever you are, go grab a vitamin C or two.

To putting our health first,

-Aurora

It has been exactly three weeks since I’ve posted here. This is interesting for me to talk about, since I’ve posted pretty regularly (usually once a week), since the beginning of the new year. To be honest, I began to worry about when I would post and what it would be about when I reached the two week point and hadn’t been inspired to talk about anything specific. That’s the thing about my site; I won’t ever post about anything I’m not passionate about or things that I believe won’t add value to the people around me. It took until this morning for me to realize that it was okay I hadn’t posted anything in awhile, and to reflect on why I hadn’t done so, and move forward.

The truth is, the last few weeks, I began feeling like I didn’t know who I was. I felt like I wasn’t being true to myself (my beliefs, values etc), was acting differently, and even began treating the people around me differently than I normally would. The part that was shocking to me, was that I recognized it the whole way through but felt like I couldn’t bounce back. I felt powerless in my own thoughts.

Has this ever happened to you?

As someone who typically is aware of who they are and how they treat others, the last few weeks really threw me for a loop as I began trying to understand what was going on with me. And while I thought about a lot- my relationships, certain situations, good things, bad things (and everything in between), I finally reached the point where I told myself to calm down and relax.

The last few days, I went on a trip with friends to Florida and had the opportunity to clear my head. I had no idea how much I would appreciate this time away, until I was there and had an overwhelming feeling of relief. As I lay under the palms trees and the warm sun on the beach, I can tell you that I literally did not have a care in the world. I was in my happy place, and nothing before those moments or the future moments to come mattered. And I think this is what it all comes down to. In the times where you need to be reminded of who you are, who you want to be and what’s important to you, can you recognize what your “happy place” (or people, memories, values) are and know yourself well enough to go there?

I was reminded today and in writing this now that my website is one of my happy places and that I’m grateful I have it as a way to connect with so many of you. Not a day goes by where I don’t interact with someone about something they saw on the site, or hear how it has inspired them in one way or another.

What these last three weeks have taught me is to recognize my happy places regularly, go to them when needed and be appreciative for what they provide. What are your happy places? And when was the last time you went there?

Go to your place and get some air,

Xo Aurora

Tag: Relaxation

When You’re Tired, Rest.

Seriously… why the heck do we do that?

Knowing Your Happy Place