It’s Monday evening and I’m sitting here quietly reflecting on the past few days.
I know I have a blog post to write ready for Tuesday, but I’m not really feeling very productive or as though I have any grand insights to share. However, what I do have is an inner knowing that sometimes the most productive thing we can do is nothing, and that sometimes we are called to just slow down and listen to what our inner world is asking of us.
We live in a world that can be incredibly demanding, and encourages us to just keep going, to push through, to remain outwardly capable, even when our inner landscape is begging for us to slow down. This is a mindset I’ve fallen into constantly in the past, and I would usually ignore the signs, even when feeling tired, not just physically, but emotionally, mentally and soulfully too. But in recent months, I’ve been shown in ways I could no longer ignore exactly why that’s just not sustainable.
Our inner world might speak to us in subtler ways such as,
The heaviness behind the eyes.
The longing for early nights and slower mornings.
The sense that what we really need, cannot be found in doing more, but in allowing ourselves more space.
For so many of us, slowing down can feel impossible, maybe even strange and uncomfortable. We may question it, resist it, and wonder if by slowing down we will be falling behind in some invisible life race.
But what if these quieter times are actually an important part of the race itself?
Nature doesn’t bloom all year round, and you don’t hear the trees apologising when they grow bare, nor do they rush their return to full bloom. There’s wisdom in their rhythm, a knowing that restoration is not separate from growth, but essential to it.
And maybe, just maybe, we are also allowed these seasons.
How many times have you heard the saying or even told someone else that you can’t keep giving from an empty vessel? I know I have, but very rarely have I ever taken that advice for myself!
There is wisdom in recognising when your energy is asking to be protected. There is wisdom in choosing the slower pace for a while when life permits it. And there is a deep self-trust, that begins to form when we stop overriding our needs and start listening to them instead.
So, if you find yourself like me feeling the need to move a little slower right now…
If your motivation feels a little lost …
Or if your heart is asking you for gentleness rather than intensity…
Try to see if you can meet yourself there without any judgement, and acknowledge that…
You don’t need to earn your rest.
You don’t need to justify your pause.
Sometimes the most healing thing we can do is to remember that our worth has never been measured by how productive we are.
So tonight, rather than searching for something profound to offer, I thought I would leave you with a simple reminder, one that I am also learning to give myself…
You ARE allowed to slow down.
You ARE allowed to embrace the quieter moments.
And you ARE allowed to honour what your inner world is asking for.
Trust that not every season is for blooming, some are for tending to the roots, where growth might be invisible, but is still underway.
With warmth, love and light
Liz Xx