Don't just do something. Stand there!

I think the most difficult thing to do in life is to do nothing....and today for me looks like resting. I have a book I am into, the fan is going full boar, doors are wide open to catch any hints of breeze, the ocean is loud in the background, and only the sounds of car doors and birds seem to penetrate today. A good day for rest.

I experience a lot of physical pain and then I get really tired. In the past I have felt enormous amounts of guilt for needing to just lay down in a quiet space, and to sometimes have to just keep on going because someone has to wash clothes and cook dinner. Guilt for resting. Guilt for not resting. Not easy.

And then I realised that it is important to take stock and deal with the reality of each of our lives. Mine at the moment involves a degree of physical suffering for which I have no ultimate cure answer to, and so I just need to do the best I can, when I can.

My husband accepted this long before I did and my children just roll with it...so I am now too!

Margaret J. Wheatley, author of Turning to One Another, writes that "Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful", which rightly suggests to us that these time outs are crucial to our well being. And this does not suggest a ten day luxury spa holiday, but rather a slow stroll around the neighbourhood, or an entire afternoon just to do baking, or a couple of hours put aside in the morning to read a good or bad book. The choices are ours and when we act in these our life becomes more pleasurable and we gain more space within ourselves to be there for our families and our friends, and even to offer up smiles to strangers we pass or sit next to on the bus. This spreads our little happinesses very far!