I recently came back from a trip to Costa Rica, the place I stayed is called las Catalinas. It's a beautiful small walking town in the middle of nowhere surrendered by the ocean and mountains, that's all; my sole intention for this trip was for me to do absolutely nothing but rest and sleep in a tranquil place in the middle of nowhere.
But I have to say that I had such a hard time disconnecting myself from the hectic city life.
It was hard for me to fall asleep and stay still, it took me around three days to finally get a good night of sleep, and that was because I was exhausted after an eleven-hour hike. During my stay in this beautiful place, for some reason, I was up at 4:00 am looking for coffee everywhere, but no one soul was around. Still, I kept walking around the town looking for the "Drug in the Mug" until finally, I saw this polite guy working on the lawn and told me: "Doña Ana, nothing opens until 7:00 am". I was like, What!?. I was devastated by the news, and my coffee withdrawals were killing me, but that led me to sit down and watch the stunning sunrise while waiting for the coffee shop to open.
Being busy is my favorite shield against uncomfortable feelings, emotions, and conversations that I want to avoid. I would dare to say that happens to you as well; we keep adding things to our to-do list because if we see a blank space on it, we start to panic and say, what I'm going to do next? For most of us, the silence of our thoughts scares us to death.
Life happens every single day, and it does it too fast. We go through life on autopilot mode without paying attention to things that matter, like our loved ones.
And the worst part is that we don't even notice it. We take people for granted; we take life like we own it and keep forgetting we might not be here tomorrow.
"Our culture demands a perpetual state of busyness."
It seems the busier we are, the better and we brag about it, it is like we are rasing for the best award of the year. If we are not active or choose to do nothing (nowadays do nothing is a luxury we can't afford), the system calls us laziness.
Suzanne Koven, an Internal medicine physician, declared to the Boston Globe in 2013, "busy is the new sick." in the past few years, I've observed an epidemic of sorts: patient after patient suffering from the same condition include fatigue, irritability, insomnia, anxiety, headaches, heartburn, bowel disturbances, back pain, and weight gain. There are no blood tests or X rays diagnostics of this condition, and yet it's so easy to recognize. The state is excessive busyness.
Isn't alarming the statement above? -So, what can we do to avoid the "new sick."
I understand that our world requires us to produce and work; otherwise, we don't have the material things we need to live. Your well-being must find a time to do nothing, at least 5 or 10 minutes per day.
One of the things that I always recommend to my clients is:
Be present, especially if you are with your loved ones. There is no better gift than dedicating time to someone, but quality time, not being there just because to have to be there, be THERE, without checking your phone, emails, notifications, etc. Your absolute presence without persisting in what you have to do next.
Say NO more frequently. How often do you say YES, when you really want to say no. Try to stop committing yourself to do things for others. I know we always want to please people by nature, but how about we start pleasing ourselves.
Do make a schedule and stick to it but do not over-schedule yourself to the point you burned out. Be realistic with your time and the things you can do in a day.
Do not let others consume your time; remember it is your time, not theirs. You do with it whatever you want, even if you only want to lay on the sofa.
Do make time for yourself and prioritize it. Write it in your calendar. If you do write it, it will happen.
Remember this you are the owner of your time, destiny, and the way you react to certain situations. You are the author and editor of your own life, so you decide how you want to live it.
"Modern man is frantic, trying to earn enough to buy things; he is too busy to enjoy."
-Frank A. Clark.
I am more than grateful to have had the opportunity to be in this beautiful place to do absolutely nothing but observe the wonders nature offers us, which we constantly ignore.
I am also so grateful to be back at home and do what I enjoy the most, helping others find ways to live a healthier and balanced life.
Much Love and Light.
-Ana.
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