Taking A Rest from Openings

I am committed to my journey and the Openings it presents. It’s been quite a ride these last two years. I have encountered many challenging Openings. I need a break. However, I’m worried that taking one may send my Openings away?

The Pace of It All

The world has sped up in the last decade. So much information 24/7. Expectations are that we are always available and on our devices. An explosion of entertainment is available to us. Instant communications occur in our work, our lives and with friends and family. We slid into this as technology developed. We didn’t prepare for or choose it. All of a sudden, we are in this world.

We have had to develop a new relationship with time that matches the pace of our lives. We have had to redefine what balance is in our lives. It has not been easy and some of us have found ourselves crashing with stress and anxiety trying to keep up. On top of that we have been dealing with a pandemic that restricts and polarizes us.

Openings have not stopped during this time. Many of us have been valiant in seeing them and making our choices regarding whether to enter them. Some of us are dealing with our own health challenges or those of people we care for. We have found ourselves isolated and sometimes in fear, requiring our discernment and centering. Amid all this change and upset, how do we keep it together?

The Speed of Life

The speed of life varies at different times of our lives. In the last two years, some of us have found life slowing down. Others found life speeding up mercilessly. Each of our journeys is unique and tailored to what we can learn. When our journey is slower, we have a chance to regain our center and look around. Faster journeys ask for centering of a different kind in order to keep up with it all.

Openings come and go. We do not control when they show up. Our control lies in what we do with them. When we are uncentered we may not see them. Or we may misinterpret them and find ourselves confused. Our first task is to learn to recognize them. When life has sped up or we are in challenging situations, recognizing Openings often requires us to pause and reflect on them before we can proceed.

Fast or slow Openings keep coming to those who recognize them. Do we let them go by when they come too quickly, or when we are not in a place to deal with them? That is for us to discern. We do not want to separate ourselves from them – our journeys may stall or lose their way. At the same time, we need to balance, regain our center and rest at times to thrive at the speed of life.

Right Timing

What is the right timing for our journeys and the Openings we encounter? That is for each of us to answer for ourselves. First, we can affirm that we do need periods of rest in order to thrive on our journeys. Rest can come in short spurts, other times for longer periods. The right timing has to do with keeping our journeys alive and building rest into them.

Walking away from our journeys does not serve us. We may not recognize the landscape of our journey when we come back to it. Right timing lies in our ability to pace ourselves and always keep our growth a priority. It also lies in staying aware and seeing the Openings that show up during our rest. Some we may let go. Others may beckon us away from our rest.

Balance is a challenge to maintain in our fast-paced world. Rest is essential to balance. Rest helps our bodies repair and rejuvenate and strengthens our immune systems. Lack of rest can fatigue our minds and mental faculties. Adequate rest strengthens our ability to focus, increasing our performance and productivity.