Are you feeling overwhelmed yet still pushing yourself?

I am. And I know that I am not alone. I  am sure it’s connected to many things that are external to me - the climate crisis, the leadership crisis, general global collapse…all of these factors are very stressful and impact my state of mind. 

But, the feeling of overwhelm I am noticing, at least in myself, is more than just the flood of things that I notice in the world. It’s also the way that I relate to myself, expecting so much of myself and then being disappointed that I didn’t achieve everything I set out to do.  

I notice how easy it is for me to fall into a pattern of judgement and self doubt when I do not manage to keep up with everything there is to do. And often, my response is to continue to push myself, rather than to take a break for a moment, to let go and rest. 

It is literally impossible to keep up with the demands life puts on you these days. 

There is so much to be said about a culture that demands from you to be in action all the time, to constantly produce, create, grow., to fulfill so many different, sometimes competing roles. 

You were not built for constant output. 

Nothing in the natural world is built this way. 

You are part of the natural world.

Everything that is alive breathes, changes, moves through different phases in a natural rhythm. 

It is exhausting to ignore your natural rhythm. 

When you do, it is pretty much guaranteed that you will feel overwhelmed.  This sense of overwhelm leads directly to the feeling that you are not enough.  

Honestly, I am bored of this feeling. 

Are you bored of feeling like you are not enough? 

While  there is no quick fix to this pattern, it can make a HUGE difference to notice the expectations you have of yourself, and to see how unrealistic they are.  

Notice the contradiction between the rhythm at which you try to accomplish and the rhythm at which the natural world moves. 

The movement between rest and action is a natural cycle, like the movement between day and night, inhale and exhale, and many other cycles. 

Attention to nature’s cycles is attention to health. 

This attention is vital in this time.