Time to take Time
These past few months or so I've realised that whilst this crazy journey called life is progressing at 100 miles per hour, it is important – no it is vital - that we all take a few moments to breathe. I feel like as humans we have a habit of underestimating the daily stresses that we experience. I know that because of my mental health even ‘small' things feel like the heaviest weight you could possibly imagine. Getting out of bed and getting ready can be the mental equivalent to a marathon sometimes, leaving you exhausted before you've even left the house. Then there's always someone who mocks me for being tired and I attempt to explain myself but I just don't have the correct words, and they can't see into my head, then it's all just a bit of a mess really. Life would be so much easier if we could see inside peoples' heads don’t you think?
Well actually it may have its cons too, people would know how weird I am and probably avoid me at all costs haha!
If you think about it, we have one sole purpose: to make it to tomorrow. In essence, we have to survive every single day of our lives (that is until death taps us on the shoulder but I don't want to dwell on that too much – death anxiety is real people!) Surviving is tiring. It uses up all of our energy, quite literally. Some days, it can feel like we don't have any. We've burnt out. Regardless of age or whatever place you are currently at in your life. Everyone has the capacity to run out of energy. Whether that be physical, mental, emotional or spiritual, heck you could run out of all 4 sometimes – I know I have.
You wouldn't run a car without petrol. So why do we feel like we can run a human on nothing? Its bizarre but even I'm guilty of this. Maybe a part of us makes us feel invincible, our resilient nature to push through makes us feel like we can do anything. Which we can! But we need to be well enough to do such things. I mean after all, we are only human. Cars are machines, we're not, and even cars can get over worked and break down sometimes. We shouldn't be so hard on ourselves when we do too. When a car is running low we refill them so they are restored to their full potential and ready to conquer the road ahead. When we're running low we should do the same. Our bodies are the vehicles of our lives and we should attend and listen to them when the tank is almost empty. We need to stop and refuel.
We need to take time to repair and restore. That's what I've been trying to do. I've been trying to do it for a while now but my mind has always been so full. But recently, dare I say it, its been working. Going away for a few days to recharge your batteries can be unbelievably beneficial to our well being (in both the physical and mental sense). I know its easier said than done but we really should prioritise ourselves. Do things that make us realise why we survive in the first place. Go on adventures with people we care about. Bike ride across the coast and think about nothing but the sound of the sea crashing against the shore. Walk your dog. Get lost in a book. Listen to music. Whatever transports you to a place as far away from our hectic lives as possible. And stay there - until you're ready to come back. Then carry on surviving until you want to take some time out again. Because cars can't run without fuel and neither can humans.
