Okay, so I’m way behind on getting the Simply Tuesday posts up. I was in Indianapolis the past two days so I could speak at MomCon yesterday.
Since all my health stuff in the last few weeks, I had to focus all of my energy the past few days just on speaking and interacting with attendees. I had hoped to have a little extra in the tank to write a few blog posts, but I just didn’t. I had a few things pre-scheduled and my wonderful assistant helped post some other things, but other than speaking and engaging with attendees, I pretty much spent the rest of the time sleeping or resting!
photo from Once a Month Meals
{It feels so weird to not be able to go full-steam like I usually can. I usually juggle a lot and have a lot of irons in the fire, but right now, I am having to majorly pace myself in order to not overdo it.
While it’s been hard for me, it’s been so good for me. I’m learning to really slow down, to focus on the most important priorities, and to let a lot of other things go. I’m learning to listen to my body, to give myself enormous amounts of grace, and to relish and savor rest.}
I did get to see Emily Freeman in person at MomCon and do a quick video with her about her book. Watch it here.
Three of my favorite quotes from the last two sections of the book were:
#1: “I think I recognize in myself a hesitancy to admit my struggle for fear it will incriminate me, branding me as a woman who has a beautiful life but doesn’t appreciate it.”
This section of the book really resonated with me as honestly, it was hard for me to blog about my health struggles the last few weeks as they felt so small an inconsequential compared to other people’s much, much bigger trials.
I didn’t want to be branded as a woman who has a beautiful life and is totally not recognizing it. At the same time, though, I had to remind myself that many other people are probably in a similar situation.
By me sharing how I’m walking this out, I realized I might be able to encourage others who feel like they are struggling from something that also seems “inconsequential” in the grand scheme of things, but that is really bogging them down and discouraging them. I felt like maybe my honest sharing would help someone else feel like they weren’t alone.
#2: “…I remind myself that relief will neither be found in continuing to chase an ideal of my productive self nor in shaming myself for my inability to get everything done.”
Neither chasing after perfectionism nor speaking shaming messages to myself is going to be a healthy way to live.
#3: “Small things don’t always turn into big things. But all things begin small, especially in the Kingdom of God. Acorns become oak trees. Embryos become President. Life starts with a breath. Love starts with hello.”
I thought this was the perfect paragraph to end this series with as it was a beautiful reminder to me that those little “small” things are often the start of something that can end up being very life-transforming. So it’s important not to overlook them, not to view “small” as negative, and not to spend life missing the beauty in small while chasing after what we think is big and great.
Small is almost always where it starts.
I know that I’m giving you almost zero notice on this (unless you watch my Periscope show — then you already know this because I shared it a few days ago!), but I’m planning to start blogging through Nourished: A Search for Health, Happiness, and a Full Night’s Sleep on Monday.
The book is split into 5 sections, so I’m planning to share about one section each week day. That’s the plan at least… life might happen and I may need to roll with the punches. We’ll see!
3. It Will Help You Sleep Better
