Are You Tired?
The onset of Spring can push us. The world is waking up, we’re filling with inspiration and plans. Goals are blossoming, the lure of achievement is real. The climate, both atmospheric and socio-political, encourages us to strive.
And yet, the weather of Spring has dual personalities. One moment you’re barefoot and coatless in the sunshine, the next freezing snow and wind are stinging your face (at least here in the Northern Hemisphere). Our emotions and energy-levels can mirror this pendulum swing, carrying us high and euphoric, then dropping us down into fatigue. If you’ve felt truly deeply bone tired lately, you’re not the only one.
I recently noticed myself all caught up in the pressure to do. Focused on what I didn’t have yet, most of my mental energy went to how I was going to get it. This in itself isn’t a bad thing, but my mindset came with stress, a low hum of dissatisfaction constantly in the background. I was looking for validation from external sources. Then, I got really really tired.
I decided to shift my focus towards receiving. Instead of overriding the cues of my nervous system in order to achieve and produce, I would allow myself to receive the abundance that’s already right here for me. Instead of focusing on what I still have left to do or get, I focused on what I already have. A roof over my head. A meal to eat, the flavor in every bite. The sound of the wind. A green shoot emerging from the earth. The voice of a family member or friend. Flowing water. Laughter. The release of tears.
The highs and lows were still present, the challenges didn’t disappear, but I saw each of them as for me, instead of against me. I allowed all of it to happen.
It didn’t necessarily change much about how I spent my time (although that could easily be a side-effect), but the shift in perspective from doing to receiving completely changed my experience. My nervous system calmed down, I stopped wondering if something was wrong with me, and started feeling more alive.
Right now the trees are budding, they’re working and creating and expending energy, and they’re also receiving. Receiving the moisture that continues to fall from the sky and flow from the hills, receiving the dark nights and the cold winds, receiving the sunlight, and turning it into nourishment.
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