2013 Faith (in) Wellness Challenge 2013 Week 15: Take a Break
This past week, I intended to take a nap every day. But then I wasn’t tired.
I couldn’t convince myself to take a nap if I wasn’t tired so instead I decided to take a break from the Challenge. I let down my guard. I pushed the pause button. I allowed myself to live my life each day without worrying about something extra.
At first, I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about today. I thought about writing as if I had taken naps all week, but that didn’t feel right. Honesty, after all, is one of my most important values.
Sometimes when we start a new program or diet or chase after a goal, we spend so much mental and physical energy worrying about doing it right – or doing it at all – that we lose sight of the beauty of the everyday things. Sometimes challenges, goals and programs make us tired. We can take a nap every day of the week and see how that feels, or we can say F*^@ IT! I’m just going to live my life the way I live it.
Living your life exactly the way you live it is actually a great time to notice how your wellness activities have been affecting your life. When you fall back into natural tendencies, notice how it makes you feel. You might find that natural tendencies no longer nourish and sustain you. You might grow a deeper appreciation for the extra things in your life that you have been working so hard to fit in. You might even realize some new or old habits aren’t worth it.
Never discount your every day life. It’s full of information if you’re alert and aware.
Release your guilt when you don’t fit in your wellness activities. Instead, focus on your normal, natural daily routine and notice how this nourishes or tires you. You may be surprised what you find.
As much as this past week was all about not doing anything specific every day, it still counts as part of the challenge. I noticed what choices were nourishing and what choices were destructive. I noticed how my natural tendencies play out on the game board of wellness I’m slowly working around. I noticed what activities I’ve already grandfathered into my daily routine. And I noticed areas where I could improve with new wellness activities.
When you nourish the soul, you will always find wellness.
In the comments below, let me know what your favorite wellness activity has been so far in the 2013 Challenge!
Image Credit: phlubdr
