And good for you! I’m sorry you had to get to the point where your own body forced you to stop, but sometimes we push ourselves so hard that that’s what it takes to get our own attention. But instead of just collapsing into unconsciousness, you really listened to what your body was telling you and observed your own feelings and reactions.

Yeah, it *is* hard. But you stayed awake and aware during the hard. Keep doing that, as often as you can (but *gently,* without making THAT into yet another must-do), and you’re on your way to a place of more clarity and more choices for yourself.

Well done! You inspire me.

When I read your crowded list with “conscious relaxation” stuffed in, I laughed – you know, that kind of freaked out, breathless laugh

My body checked me hard this week. So hard I had no option but to totally stop and lie in bed, usually in semi-darkness, not doing a thing.

Interesting to observe how incredibly hard that was for me, and to see what thoughts and perspectives arose in the space it created.

So I’ve tried doing something similar with play lately. Not so much scheduling it in, which would just feel like more regimentation, but stopping and asking myself in the moment, “What would I like to do for fun right now?”

The scary thing to me is how often I honestly don’t have an answer. Am I really that out of touch with my own childlike spontaneity?

As far as why you (we? I’d bet it’s a pretty inclusive “we”) rebel at lists? For me, it’s that same feeling of regimentation. On the one hand, I know I’ll feel better if X, Y and Z get done. On the other, even though I’ve created the list I then give it external authority over me, and find myself yelling back at it–”DON’T tell me what to do!!!!!”

Hmm. I think you’ve just given me a good idea for a new blog post. Thanks! ;o)

I’m beginning to see how much you have to break things down to see exatly where the problems are. The tough thing is that you often need to be super-aware and look very closely indeed to figure out exactly what’s tripping you up. The good thing is that once you do, the solutions can be extremely simple.

Like moving a CD player to the side of the room near your bed so you can listen to soothing music or sounds easily. Or getting a teeny notebook for jotting down thoughts on the fly so you can mentally relax knowing you’ve captured them.

Thanks for your comment!

A lot of people talk about slowing down and doing less, but the inner stuff seems to be missing from the discussion. And that’s where I usually get tripped up.

It’s not that I don’t get that doing less is a great idea. I just keep stumbling over the inner bits that keep pushing for moremoremore. So this was really helpful. Thank you!

Awesome post.

Also, I agree that people tend to think they’re wating valuable time by resting. That’s one of the myths I intend to keep trying to debunk here on this blog.

@Christine – Erm . . . yeah, it MIGHT mean that. ;o)

Let’s hear it for flower-smelling and (especially) kitty-scritching!