The Art of the “Pause”

To all my friends and family who are feeling particularly stressed, overwhelmed, unsure, or just plain “over it,” this one’s for you. 

Life administration is hard. I’m not trying to say we have it harder than many other people in the world who are suffering from hunger, terrorism, domestic violence, and social injustice. But, I am talking about every day life admin.

“I better cook for this week so I can eat healthy and avoid spending money on eating out.”

“I should go to the gym, I sit at my desk all day.”

“I really need to change the sheets [insert: clean the toilet]; [do a load of laundry]; [clean the kitchen].”

“If I don’t do this now it won’t get done.”

“There are just simply not enough hours in the day.”

And so on, and so forth. Sound familiar?

I get it, believe me. Some days I am able to work myself up in such a tizzy that I get up every few minutes while watching a movie or tell my husband I’m running to the restroom quickly (and folding some laundry or wiping down the kitchen). He calls it my “Tasmanian devil mode.”

The above rendition is an accurate representation of what I look like.

So, pause. 

Then, pause again. Pause with intentionality. Pause mindfully.

Just a second, just a beat, just a fraction of a second. 

The laundry can wait. The gym will be there tomorrow. You can clean tomorrow. 

There is more that you can accomplish in that little pause for yourself than most of what you “must” do in a day. Remember this!

Namaste.