Pace & Pause

This week I have mostly been feeling incredibly grateful. So many wonderful things keep flying into my direction and I'm filled with appreciation, at some points overwhelmed with joy. The wheels are turning, new adventures are underfoot and I'm open to receiving. This week I've also been feeling exceptionally chilled out, relaxed and at some points delightfully lazy.

The workaholic has been lazy? The workaholic spent 3 days in pyjamas with greasy hair after catching a cold with the weekend adventures of a hermit monk and it has been just class. It comes highly recommended. With my blog going out on a Tuesday, the new week of adventures starts for me on a Wednesday and this one started in the most incredible and icredibly unusual way- inside a flotation tank. I've been harping on about it all week to my close friends and with good reason, it's the most fantastic thing I've done in a while. As a non-swimmer who isn't the biggest fan of small spaces I wasn't convinced I'd enjoy the bath with a lid, in fact I thought it'd be the worst hour I'd have had in some time but was going to try it out anyway. What happened instead: The water was nice and warm, the salt levels meant I couldn't not float, the space inside was bigger than it seemed and I was as chilled as could be for a glorious hour of sensory deprivation. It's great for deep relaxation but also is the perfect activity for stimulating theta waves in the brain which go hand in hand with creativity. Tick, tick,tick. Unexpected though was how much better I'd look as a result. It's bizarre to describe but looking in the mirror after was a bizarre experience, essentially I had the same face but it was better, younger, brighter. Was it a flotation tank or the fountain of youth?? As a woman in her twenties I hardly have years worth of wrinkles to worry about but my overall complexion just glowed. It's amazing, spread the word and enjoy the good news.

We run and run everyday to keep up with the races and challenges we have set ourselves; rarely stopping to pause we take for granted how much rest we need. I'm aware I'm a person who needs to make room for chilling out but I had no idea how much physical stress I carried in my body that day until I was out the other side with my relaxed body and teenage fresh face. I always make sure my laptop's fully charged but I seem to accept having a half battery for my body and mind as just being tired. So easy in our modern technological world it has become to neglect ourselves, many of us are surviving not thriving. In my new state of heavenly bliss I sat and took stock of all the good I'm surrounded by, how supported I am by the universe. I felt open and happy and aware of how much I have to be thankful for. I sent a thank you message to my hairdresser for my perfect hair and embraced my new vision. From taking stock of everything great around me I gained greater clarity on what else I wanted that picture to include. Scribbling down some ideas turned into well thought out plans and approaches, the picture of my future was a sharp, focused photograph to display on the mantlepiece in my mind. AS Bo Bennett said "visualization is daydreaming with a purpose". Another thing to be grateful for.

I hadn't intended upon taking 3 days to be a slob. I got a bit ill from getting caught in the rain and am a bit obsessive about looking after myself when I'm a bit off; being only a couple of years since my lungs took on pneumonia they need the extra protection and care which then turned into just enjoying my pyjamas. It's not my usual modus operandi but after feeling the benefits of the tank at the top of the week I felt happy to slide down into a lower gear. It didn't have to mean being unproductive or lazy, it could mean taking on the world from a new angle. A self assured relaxation with focus. Which is exactly what it was. If anyone called to the door (which the Postwoman did once with a parcel and I was mortified) they'd have probably assumed I was just wasting my life away, but being productive and achieving doesn't have to mean getting up super early, getting everything done right away in an anxious manner. Our vision gets clearer when we release, we retune our own instruments by stopping to listen to it. That's when we can pick up the ball and run, that's when we're likely to have what it takes to get a slamdunk. I'm now out of my incubation. I'm relaxed, recharged and refreshed and I'm going back in the tank before I leave the country for a few days- a surprise work trip organised yesterday following my pyjama weekend which I have all the energy I need for now my battery is fully charged. And I'm grateful.