Sometimes life feels light, and we feel like we can take on the world. Other times, life feels heavy; too heavy to manage. Nothing is quite wrong, but something is definitely not right. It’s been a hard lesson to learn, but it has been my experience that when life feels too heavy to bear, it’s a certain indicator that it’s time to rest. And rest takes courage.
It takes courage to say yes to rest and play in a culture where exhaustion is seen as a status symbol.
Brene Brown
Toward the end of July, John and I set out on an adventure; the first American road trip alone since becoming parents twenty five years ago. We didn’t make any definite plans, we simply knew we needed some time away, and we headed West. I didn’t take my laptop, and I didn’t write an August newsletter. It was scary – and the break took courage. But I knew I needed to find some rest, both mentally and emotionally.
Colorado here we come…
We traveled through Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, we waved at KariAnne Wood from the panhandle of Texas and she waved back from her hometown, and finally we arrived in Colorado. It was outside of our nature, but we didn’t even make hotel arrangements. Well, we had reservations in a couple of towns, but other than that, we drove until we wanted to stop, stayed where we wanted to stay, ate where we wanted to eat, and then packed up the car and took off again. One day we did nothing but went from rooftop restaurant to rooftop restaurant – we ate pizza, had stir fry, and just took in the views.
We visited Ouray, Silverton, Durango, Telluride, Aspen, Leadville, and Denver before heading back home. We ate in rooftop restaurants surrounded by mountain views, we hikes trails with no oxygen, we visited waterfalls, we drove the million dollar highway, we enjoyed a small-town festival with burrow racing, and we summited peaks well over 13,000 feet.
Much needed rest…
I took a month off from writing, and to be honest, I contemplated shutting down the blog. The break was so nice, and to honest, taking the time away from writing lifted a lot of the heaviness I was feeling. But it took a lot of courage to rest.
But as I had lunch with a friend, she made a comment about first having to be proud of yourself. And in that simple statement of a completely unrelated topic, I realized that is what I had lost. I had lost entirely the ability to be proud of myself.
We were talking about extending our lease – again – and I felt as if what I had been writing about for so long was being put on hold – again.
Remembering the why…
But as I thought about what the actual reason behind the blog – my why – it was to encourage others to live their life to the best of their ability. To discover home, to simplify life, and to experience more. That has not changed. And whether we move every 12 – 18 month, or stay put for a little longer than first planned, those goals have not changed. When you visit this blog, I want you be encouraged to discover home; either for the first time, for the one hundred and first time. I want you to find ways to simplify your life; whether that’s the motivation and encouragement to clean and organize a drawer, a closet, or a cabinet, or find a simpler way of doing something. And, I want you to feel like you can experience more; you don’t have to move every few months, or spend money to do it. I want you to know you can experience more right outside your own door, and so often, for free.
And so those things have not altered. They remain the same. And I’ve taken a good little break and found comfort and rejuvenation in my courageous rest. In fact, I highly recommend it.
Here’s hoping you’ll find the courage to rest in a culture where exhaustion is seen as a status symbol.
