Take a break! Slow down. Relax.
Famous last words, eh? Well, they’re true. Even if it does seem to be easier said than done.
Most of the people I know, crafters and cancer patients alike, have a hard time not firing on all cylinders. There’s the creative need to do more, make more and do it all right now. And so we ignore our bodies when it tries to tell us to slow down. We drink copious amounts of coffee and when that doesn’t work we turn to processed stuff like Red Bull and Rock Star drinks. We stay up late to finish Christmas presents because things HAVE TO get done.
But we don’t look at the bigger picture of how that push can be damaging. Crafters (and cubicle drones) are prone to Repetitive Stress Syndrome. Athletes who do too much too soon can get a stress fracture. (Like me!) And when your body is worn out from chemo or radiation but your mind isn’t, it’s very easy to say “I can’t just lay down! I gotta wash the dishes! And do the laundry! And pretend to be Superman!” (Again, that was me!)
Western society, I think, pushes us to be the most productive we can be. Which is good, up to a point.
Monday I posted a short bit on panicking because Christmas is about 14 weeks away. I did feel myself start to panic and think about making all the things! for all the people I know! I did stop and think long and hard about just what I was doing to myself. My stomach was in knots because there’s so many things I actually need to do and only so many hours in the day. So I took a deep breath, stopped myself and wrote out a long term “To do” list.
I’m only going to craft some of the things! for only some of the people! And if it doesn’t get done by Christmas, that’s fine.
I’m urging you, beloved readers, to take a break. At some point in your day, take a pause, step away from what you’re doing for a moment and collect yourself. Look at what you’re doing and evaluate just what needs to be really done. Is there anything you can hand off to someone else? Does it really have to be done by a certain day?
Now closer your eyes and take another deep breath.
It’ll get done. And it’ll be amazing.
How do I know this?
Because you’re amazing. <3
4 Responses to “The importance of pauses”
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I agree with you 100% and more if that could be possible. I’m not a cancer patient but I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and Fibromyalgia and I can relate to what you wrote here. My mom had a stroke last month so I went into ‘caretaker’ mode and just yesterday my body finally screamed at me loud enough for me to listen. I have to remind myself to take breaks because I have Wonder Woman syndrome… My mind still tries to convince me that I have a healthy body and that I should be doing something all of the time – dishes, laundry, crafts, blogging, and so one. My body doesn’t agree…
I’m glad you wrote your list, I’ll have to borrow your idea and do the same. It won’t all get done, I don’t plan on any crafts for gifts this year, I just don’t have it in me. Good luck with it all!
Earlier this year I had plans on making everyone gifts, now I’m not thinking that’s a possibility with work, work knitting, work designing, having a life (and keeping it). “Taking a break” comes in the form of my runs, but even then, sometimes I just need to sit on the couch with some hot coco and be still.
You’re wonderful
LOL, I’m hella good at “taking a break.” Like now, reading blogs instead of folding all the laundry on my bed or scrubbing down a bathroom.
Last Christmas I gave myself a shake and said “enough is enough”. I wrote to my friends and said I wouldn’t be giving either them or their children Christmas presents from now on. 10 presents gone in one email. It felt amazing AND my friends were grateful for me being the one to put a stop to this 20 year old tradition. I also crafted as I normally would up until the 2nd week of December and then any person who didn’t have a crafted gift assigned to them that was finished at that point, got a present bought. It was so liberating. I will be doing the same this year. The recipient’s don’t know if they were supposed to get a crafted gift or not, they just know about what is in the gift wrapping. When you think like that it gets a whole lot easier to say – oh well, I’ll do this gift for their birthday or get an early start on next year.