The knots in my gut are beginning to relax.
Until I came to this quiet AirBnb in remote Skull Valley Arizona, I didn’t know they were there. The knots had been my companions for so long, they felt normal.
It makes sense. In the last 18 months, my wife’s father died. I had my debut author year. Was rushed to the hospital by ambulance with excruciating pain in my abdomen. Published five books. Went on three national book tours. My mom spent months in ICUs before dying in hospice. My wife and I sold three properties, including our primary residence. Bought a new vehicle. Sold and donated virtually all our possessions. Became digital nomads, living in hotels, AirBnbs, and with friends and family.
The depth and pace of stress and change, both thrilling and horrifying, have taken their toll. So as Lisa and I sit in a refurbished barn at the end of a three mile dirt road with nowhere to go, the twisted strands in my gut are loosening. I hadn’t realized how much I needed this.
I’m trying to lean into the silence. The stillness. The lack of busyness. To rest. To heal. To learn what God, the universe, my body, and my soul are trying to teach me.
Life has seasons. They come and go based on a mix of my own choices and factors completely beyond my control. In my confusion, laziness, and stress, I sometimes confuse the two. It often takes days like these to untangle the threads. I’m grateful for the opportunity.
Do you have hidden (or not so hidden) stress? Take a moment to pause. Be still. Breathe deep. Gaze into your life. Reflect. Be honest about what you see. Hear the voices of yourself, the universe, your Higher Power. Learn the lessons they have to teach. If you do, you’ll find relief, and you’ll take another step toward Becoming Yourself.
It’s been almost exactly a year since we moved from our house in Phoenix, AZ to our apartment in Sacramento, CA. As I recently reflected back on that move, I was reminded of an important personal development tool that helped get me through that stressful season. I’m reposting what I wrote about the practice during that time in hopes that this will be helpful to you. Read on – stress relief and guidance are only 10 minutes away!
It’s a big change for us, but we’re excited. Along with that excitement, however, comes stress. Moving to a new state after fourteen years in one place is a logistical challenge. Completing the planning, organizing, packing, cleaning, decluttering, and neglected home maintenance projects, all while keeping work and the normal responsibilities of life going, has been a struggle. A few days ago, I was succumbing to the pressure. My mind was whirling with all the things that needed to get done, and I was feeling moody, anxious, and overwhelmed.
Then I remembered something I read in a book my accountability partner gave me, 
My honest thought in the moment was, “I don’t have time for that!” The irony was not lost on me. It is precisely for moments like this that the practice was developed. I realized I couldn’t afford NOT to do this. So I set a timer on my phone for ten minutes and lay down on the bed. I made myself breathe deeply and just let my mind wander. Gradually my swirling thoughts slowed, and I felt myself start to relax. I gently opened my mind to receive whatever God or my own brain chose to bring up.
When the timer went off after ten minutes, an amazing thing had happened. I was calm. I wasn’t moody or anxious anymore. My perspective had been reset. My to-do list no longer seemed so overwhelming and had diminished to an appropriate level of importance. And most surprisingly, a clear plan for a more efficient way to accomplish the tasks ahead of me popped into my mind without effort.
So how about you? Are you feeling stressed or overwhelmed? Too much to do and too little time? Take a moment to pause. Go to your favorite chair. Lie on the bed. Sit under a tree. Embrace the silence. Breathe deeply. Let your thoughts wander. Listen to what God or the universe or your subconscious has to say. You may be surprised by what you hear. Invest just ten minutes of time to recenter, refocus, and refresh your mind by putting yourself in “receive mode.” If you do, you’ll take another step toward Becoming Yourself.