Everything ached.
My head, my neck, my shoulders, my back. They all ached.
I sat a bit longer on my bed that morning.
I wanted to check in with my body, ask it directly what the heck was going on. Was it trying to tell me something? I didn’t want to automatically take an Advil(R) or distract myself with social media or food. I knew those wouldn’t help long term.
As I quieted my mind and focused my attention on the pain in my body, the first thing that showed up was a typical sarcastic response - Hey, you forgot your heart, your heart hurts most.
You’re right, Bod, my heart hurts, let’s go there first. Tell me. I’m here and I’m listening.
You’re not going to get up and look at your list of 89 items to do today?
Touché.
Hush… listen.
The pain looked like a grey cloud covering different areas in my body. It moved around and changed shape but wouldn’t let go and lift. So after greeting it and making sure it felt welcome, I asked if it had a message for me. Then I listened silently.
“It’s too much.”
“What’s too much?”
“All of it. It’s too much.”
Such a simple answer yet so true.
There was so much happening around the world, specially right here at home. Frightening decisions and actions, divisiveness among the leaders and the people. It was a time for resistance, insistence on our values, and thoughtful action. I had to be aware and vigilant. I had to make a difference.
Something in me loosened up and the tears came freely.
Yes, it’s too much for me. It’s too much for any one person.
I’d been carrying it all on my broad shoulders.
The state of the world.
The state of all people.
The state of minorities.
The state of women.
Add to that the state of my business, my relationships, my plans, my health.
And the state of my cluttered office, the broken door handles, the semi move to NYC, the furniture, tonight’s dinner…
Too much.
Thank you, dear body for getting my attention, although we need to talk about less painful communication skills …
The pain subsided.
I finally got out of bed with two big messages:
1. You don’t have to carry the world on your shoulders.
This is a group project. A world project.
Do what little you can do in your corner of the woods.
Just be the way you wish to be in life - kind, loving, giving, yet fierce, determined, steadfast at the same time.
Add your energy to the newly vitalized force of evolution you see around you.
There’s a lot to do, but you’re not alone in this.
Let’s build community. Let’s stand together. Let’s use our light and creativity together to bring about change.
2. You don’t have to do it all in one day.
Choose.
Choose your top priorities.
Heck, choose just one thing in any given day!
Leave time to rest and play. More gets done with rest and play.
The world is not going to fall apart. Not with so many of us rising to hold it together.
Slow down. You’ll accomplish more in the long run this way.
How about you? Have you been carrying a heavy load too?
What messages have you gotten from your body lately?
Please share below.