Recently, I had a very hectic week. I had a lot to do. I did, or at least attempted to do in one week, what I usually would do in two weeks. The result? I was tired and I also ended up with insomnia because I was so anxious to get everything else done I needed to do. Then, I got sick. I wore myself down. And while I was sick, I at first tried to keep working to stay caught up. After I found I could not physically do so, I submitted to going to bed and sleeping.
The next day, I felt like my old self. I also found that what I did not get done the day I was sick I easily got done the day after as well as everything I had planned to get done that day, and I still took a little time to rest.
When we feel overwhelmed, it is easy to overreact, to worry about not getting everything done. Why do we overdo it? Is it because we need to get the work done, or because we’re trying to impress someone with how efficient we are? Is it because we are addicted to stress and high energy levels and can’t simply turn them off to relax? Are we merely trying to impress ourselves, or worse, justify ourselves by everything we accomplish?
The day I gave in to sleeping was a wonderful day. Once I quit worrying about what needed to be done, I was able to lie in bed and enjoy the comforting warmth of my quilt, of lying in bed, of the sunlight pouring across the room, of the deliciousness of doing nothing. I was tired more than really sick. I was not fully conscious much of the day, but at some point, I felt my body shift and heal itself. I simply needed my battery to be recharged.
I also needed to remember to trust. To trust that what needed to be done would be done. To trust that anyone who had to wait on me would understand. In fact, once I was refueled, I worked as quickly as before and my work was better than it would have been otherwise; I didn’t even need to give any explanations for a delay.
There is always time to accomplish everything that needs to
be done. We worry about lack of time, but I have found that in the end, we
always have the right amount of time. We may think certain things must be done
within certain timeframes, but ultimately, everything gets done when the time
is right, and it is better for it as a result. Trust. Do your work, but know
that time will finish things in its own time, and whenever that time is, that
time will be the right one.
Irene
Watson, MA, is author of The Sitting Swing: Finding
Wisdom to Know the Difference, and co-editor
of The Story that Must Be
Told: True Tales of Transformation,
and Authors Access: 30 Success
Secrets for Authors and Publishers.
She is a workshop leader,
managing editor of Reader Views,
and president of a non-profit Higher Power Foundation.
Irene lives next to Barton Creek in Austin, TX, with her husband Robert.
As always, your comments make so much sense to me. You are an inspiration. I read your comments every time they appear and even if I do not respond I am impressed unless you get into the publishing business which I don't even read. lol I look forward to reading your comments.
Posted by: Richard Wheeler | January 29, 2010 at 05:04 PM