The Power in the Pause
We’re taught to always be productive and busy, and for most of us, it becomes a way of life, leading to disconnection, exhaustion, and burn out. Yet even if we have the chance to pause, do we know how? Is it too uncomfortable even to approach? Find some inspiration and permission for the pause here.
Life is uncertain. Constantly changing.
Even the things that are planned out are just plans, not certainty.
As I’ve been letting go more and more, and learning to trust myself, I’m realizing at an even deeper level how valuable it is to be comfortable with these uncertainties. Or at least, as comfortable as possible.
I’ve been in this process of clearing out - clearing out things that I no longer want or need to spend my time on, clearing out stuff (literally getting rid of things), and also letting go of old ways of being and old beliefs.
What’s been created is a spaciousness. A present moment. An openness to what’s next. Still with some uncertainty of what will be filled in.
And in the past, in this place of unknown, my habits would have been to practice a lot of fear-based what-ifs, distract myself and fill up my time with to-dos, and be in a place of holding on and anxiety.
But instead, this time it’s different. This time, I’m listening. I’m listening to my body - when it needs to slow down, and when it needs to move. I’m listening to my heart - what needs to be expressed, what I'm opening up to… I’m listening to divine guidance, even when I don’t hear something. I’m still listening…
Instead of jumping into doing and filling up my time, I’m pausing. Something is wanting to be born.
In our culture, this might be frowned upon. But there’s a knowing deep within me that this time is meant to be exactly what it is.
There is power in the pause.
Life isn’t meant to be consistent. As women, we’re especially not meant to be consistent, literally by nature.
So what if it was ok to slow down? What if by slowing down, and allowing the discomfort that may come from not knowing, you actually received a knowing for yourself beyond what you could have even imagined?
The truth is in order to hear our intuition, our inner wisdom, our own internal guidance system, we have to create space for it. We have to slow down. We have to listen. This can’t be done in distracting ourselves. It can’t be accomplished purely being in our heads and holding on tight to knowing exactly what’s next and having it “figured out”. And it requires a trust not only in yourself - in your ability to listen and to figure it out as you go, and a willingness to do so - but also in a higher power of your own understanding. A trust in the support of Life itself. Life is here for you.
I don’t have any action steps for you to take to do this. Today I just want to share with you that I’m pausing. I’m listening. I’m trusting. And hope that in me sharing it, it gives you permission to do the same.
With all my love,
Angie