Welcome to The Pause, dear friend. Come on in and make yourself comfortable.
I have been spending many of my recent days contemplating what it means to be here, now, on Earth. Less why am I here and more what am I meant to be experiencing as a person on Earth?
I’ve been enjoying my recovery year. Finding more groundedness and answers in books like Build the Life You Want, Outlive, You Are Here, and shows like Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones. I’m feeling more calm. Less stressed. More alive. More present. More here.
In conjunction with this semi-newfound knowledge, I want us to take a moment to contemplate what we’re currently prioritizing in life.
Settle in, take a deep breath, and get ready to pause in 3…2…1…
Life priorities
It’s a trip to compare the resources on longevity/living a good life up against how I’ve been choosing to prioritize my life these past few years.
Low stress.
More movement.
Presence and awareness.
Better nutrition.
Solid community.
Commitment to hope/faith.
These are the things the majority of these resources preach for a better shot at living a long and healthful life.
They aren’t all that surprising.
I’ve known to lower stress and move my body more. I’ve known to put my phone down and practice being in the room as often as possible. I’ve known to prioritize eating healthy foods and being out in the real world with people as much as possible. I’ve known that tapping into faith and the belief that there’s something bigger than me at play in the world almost always has a positive impact on my mood.
And yet, when faced with a trying few years, I failed to execute prioritizing nearly all of them.
Many of my recent walks and quiet time have involved contemplating how I lost sight of these healthy habits. Why did I choose to put myself in situations that caused me extreme stress (especially when no one was asking me to but myself )? What led me to deprioritize things that made me feel good long-term? What inadequacies did I feel about myself that contributed to me putting myself so far back on the back burner that there was close to zero taking care of myself at all?
It’s been exhausting to hold the mirror up, but also, and perhaps more importantly, it’s been liberating.
There’s gold presenting itself from digging into how I devolved into this dark period of self-care. The answers are making me more self-aware. More humble. More conscious of the slippery slopes and triggers surrounding me that may lead me away from myself again. And while, yes, I know that the pandemic and welcoming a baby in April of 2020 were big factors in this, I also know that my disappearing act wasn’t all the pandemic or parenthood’s doing. I knew what to do. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.
We know what we need to do to help ourselves feel better.
We know deep down the choices we could be making to help us feel more centered, connected, and alive, but for some reason, we still don’t choose them. I hope if you’re in one of these phases, you’ll take a moment today to check in with yourself and ask, “Why?”. Not in an accusatory or demeaning way, but rather with genuine-hearted curiosity.
⏸ Pause
What’s keeping you from doing the thing that you know will help you feel better in the long run?
What’s stopping you from choosing less stress? More movement? More presence and awareness? Better nutrition? Solid community? A belief in hope and/or faith?
Whatever the answers, I hope you can find a way to remember how good it feels to take care of yourself for the long term.
Until next time, sending you love and the gusto to do what makes your soul feel good.
🤍, L