Thursday, March 9, 2017

Time-out For This Woman



So here I am, wide awake at 5:00 a.m. with a myriad of thoughts running through my head. I have ideas on how to fix a computer glitch, a way to reorganize a room that has been bothering me, and thoughts for a blog post. Where to begin? 

I found myself in an exhausted state last night. That seems to happen on occasion when I’ve had a series of busy days in the neighborhood and my body decides it’s tired of being ignored. It voices its opinion in various unpleasant fashions to get my attention. I returned home from my current calling in the scouting organization (den leader) at 6:00 p.m. with a pounding headache and achy joints. This tells me a couple of things: there is a major pressure shift going on in our area (I was told once that arthritis patients are the best weather forecasters in the world, but I digress), and I might have overdone it a bit. I’m learning that when my body calls for a time-out, it’s best to listen. So I relaxed on the couch . . . ate very little for supper since I felt so lovely . . . and promptly fell asleep. I woke up later on and put myself to bed.

Evidently, a good night’s rest was just the thing, since I’m feeling so much better today, and I have lots of ideas about how to fix a few items I’ve been wanting to work on. Plus an idea for a blog post, which I’m sure thrills everyone out there. :D 

I think there are times in all of our lives when we need a time-out. This could be a chance to unwind and relax after being subjected to a bit of stress, a get away from the daily routine, or simply more rest. It’s important to listen to our bodies and strive to understand what they are trying to tell us. Mine was waving a white flag last night. Maybe even a white flag with bright red stripes to get my attention. It was probably muttering things like: “Hey, idiot! Yeah, you! What’s up with this tendency to run yourself into the dirt lately? In case you missed it, you are running on empty! When was the last time you relaxed? Rested? Caught up on stuff you’ve wanted to tackle? Slow down, or things won’t be very pleasant for you. Just sayin’ . . .”

I will admit, my body does indeed possess a gift when it comes to getting my attention. Last night was one example. So I’m glad I listened for once and gave in to the need for rest. (Like I had a choice in the matter.) And it worked. I can’t believe how much better I feel today, even if my body then decided, since it was in the driver’s seat for a change, that we needed to get up at an extremely early hour. The adage: “Early to bed, early to rise, makes Cheri healthy, not so much wealthy, but possibly wise(r),” was going through my head in an annoying fashion. Thank you Mr. Ben Franklin for that bit of advice. 

So, lesson learned . . . again. It seems like I have to go through this occasionally to remind myself that I do have obligations when it comes to physical maintenance. Rest, exercise, eating food that is good for me, stuff like that, appears to be important. It’s like anything else—balance in all things. I learned once that there are four areas we need to take care of to feel good: we need to nourish our spirit constantly (read scriptures, pray, etc.); do things that improve our emotional well-being (like a focus on hobbies, chatting with friends, etc.); tackle items that make us think to maintain mental acuity, (there’s your word for the day) like reading, puzzles, learning new things; and focus on our physical health. This would include getting plenty of rest (an item I apparently inhale at on occasion) exercise, etc.

I must not be doing too bad—a couple of months ago my diabetic specialist was ready to give me a gold star on the forehead. (Yes, I am bragging because it doesn’t happen very often.) But I do need to periodically take a time out to regroup and get things back on track. 

And now, I’m off to tackle the bits of inspiration that popped into existence this morning, my reward for listening to my body last night. Have a great day out there, and seriously, if you would like to follow suit, take a time-out to assess what you need. This apparently does wonders for our well-being.

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