Do you ever find yourself so “connected” that you are disconnected? Caught in that “sandwich generation” where you are caring for not only your kids but your parents as well? Finishing your day being tired but still totally wired? Medicating your wake cycle with caffeine and your sleep cycle with a beverage or two? Do you ever just wish life would slow down?
I remember my mom telling me at a very young age that she thought I just might have a heart attack by the time I reached the ripe age of twenty because of how I moved through the world. I was a wild child growing up. Every move was very swift and high-strung. She actually would try and help me by making me stand in front of her, ask me to slow down and count to 10. What? I remembered being so annoyed. I would begrudgingly stop just enough to stand still, shoot her a dirty look and in a mumbling manner fly through the numbers, 1, 2, 3, 4…..10, only to quickly pivot and take off again like a Tasmanian devil.
I have to say I kept up this pace for some time until, finally, my body made me stop. Yes, at the ripe age of 50, I was forced to abandon my wild ways due to my health and—oh dear—was it hard. I hated that I had to “rest.” I hated that I had to “slow down.” I simply hated it. However, after decades of living a numbing grind, I was in a place where I was so unbalanced physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually that I simply didn’t have a choice. I finally had to heed to the original intention and wisdom of my mother and slow down.
This isn’t the first time I had gotten a signal to “chill out” since my mom’s well-intended-yet-failed antics. Oh no, there were many, but I ignored the whisper…then the knock…and then shove. It wasn’t until the Universe was screaming bloody murder that I finally paid attention.
After successfully slowing down and completing a period of recovery, I wondered to myself, what was my resistance? Why did I scoff at my mom and ignore the other signs in my life to slow down, take a load off, and chill out?
The real (potential) harm in slowing down is that you will gain access—access to yourself, to your feelings and to your inner world. Wow! It is a powerful place and can be totally scary; however, that’s where the goods are—the sweet spots. That’s where the information of pain, growth and healing lie. There are so many distractions, especially in our modern day, to keep us whipped up and away from ourselves. If we buy into them constantly, we miss out on our growth, our real feelings and true selves. have always said it is not your feelings that will hurt you; it is what you do to get away from them that will.
For more information, check out Dr. Holly Lucille’s website, or buy her book, Creating and Maintaining Balance: A Woman’s Guide to Safe Natural Hormone Health
