What do I return to when things start to speed up?
There are so many time-scales where my life can speed up. It can happen in a few hours, or more slowly over days, weeks or even months. But the fixes are always the same for me.
I tap the brakes and check in on a few things…
Am I tired? A nap could be just the thing. Perhaps I need an entire, good night's sleep.
When have a I last moved? Try standing up! Try going for a walk. Raise my heart rate and make the big muscles do something. Life isn't just all in my own head.
When did I last meditate? Find a spot and sit down for some basic breathing.
When did I last journal? Dump the jumbled thoughts out of my head, take stock of what's going on in my life, ask some good questions of myself, and gain some perspective.
When evening has come, I return to my house and go into my study. At the door I take off my clothes of the day, covered with mud and mire, and I put on my regal and courtly garments; and decently reclothed, I enter the ancient courts of ancient men, where, received by them lovingly, I feed on the food that alone is mine and that I was born for. There I am not ashamed to speak with them and to ask them the reasons for their actions; and they in their humanity reply to me. And for the space of four hours I feel no boredom, I forget every pain, I do not fear poverty, death does not frighten me. I deliver myself entirely to them.
ɕ
There's also a short page to help you get the most from Pause— including how you can listen to each issue of Pause in your podcast player.