Introduction
There is a force within that gives you life; seek that.
~ Rumi
"Thank God it's Friday!" is a familiar four-word refrain understood across cultures. For those balancing the responsibilities of work, school, family, second jobs, and side gigs, the anticipation of Friday carries the weight of the entire work week.
Commitment to our work is imperative, however, we must also make self-care a priority. If the mind is not well, we are without clarity. If the body is sick, our daily functioning is limited, and if we are weak spiritually, we are unable to receive guidance.
Attempts at living within imbalance carry steep consequences over the long term.
When attention is not paid to the mini glitches in the matrix of life our lifelines can become frayed and fail us.
Life is filled with setbacks; some greater than others. With this knowledge, we must determine to be mindful of our capacity for recovery. Each trial exposes areas of weakness in our game plan.
Our strategies don’t have to be perfect, but we should be prepared to address our challenges. When we are not we risk breakdowns of incapacity that threaten to paralyze us and prevent us from moving forward.
A danger foreseen is half-avoided. ~ Cheyenne Proverb
My grandmother is the most resilient woman I have ever known and her wisdom and determination empower my days and nights yet still.
From a young girl growing up in the segregated south during the Great Depression, she farmed, did laundry, cooked, baked, kept houses, tended children and made everything from butter and soap to corn liquor. She never slowed down, and an attack on her brain was the ultimate result.
The reward for a young life committed to hard work in hard times were three strokes that left her paralyzed on her left side and unable to speak. When she woke up in the hospital, she saw her husband and their three young children staring down at her. All were terrified.
"That's when I knew," she'd said, "I knew that whatever it took, I had to get out of that bed. My family needed me. I was barely alive, but I had to live for them."
Balance is a necessity and we must seek it in every aspect of our lives. When it is not a priority, we decrease our opportunities to experience joy in our work, home, and family life.
Most times, we do not hate our jobs or our lives, we have just allowed the frustration that goes along with depletion of resources to dominate our experience. When this occurs, our peace is disturbed and resentments set in. Our resources are our minds, our bodies, and our spirits and we must preserve and protect them.
At the time, my grandmother knew she had to recover, to overcome this episode that had flattened her and threatened the livelihood of her family and the future of her children. It was in that moment she decided to fight and became determined she could. And with the help of Almighty God, she would recover.
She also knew how the industrious drive in her nature had kept her so focused on her responsibilities that she neglected her own personal well-being and until the Universe sent her an unmistakable message she would have continued upon the path she later warned me to take care upon.
When it came my turn to join the rat race of life knowing the journey ahead, she gave me the benefit of her wisdom. "Do your work, but remember that rest is important."
It is better to prevent than to cure. ~ Peruvian Proverb
Recovery is an act of rescue, the act or process of returning to a normal state after a period of difficulty. It is a recapture, a reclamation, a recoupment, a repossession, or retrieval. It is a redemption.
Most of us live in a harried unbalanced way. When we reach the breaking point, we have no awareness of how or where to begin to rebuild our lives in a healthier way.
The Unfolding with Joy Series of books are short reads offered in love as a supportive reminder of the importance of taking pause to note the checks and balances in our lives.
"Recover Yourself!" is the first of the three. As the opening text, it examines what occurs when we come to the end of our rope and we are confronted with the lifestyle choices that resulted in our arrival at our current stress-filled circumstance.
Driving hard and fast toward set goals must be supported by a healthy mind, body, and spirit. You have a right to personal achievement. You have a right to personal well-being. You have a right to feel good along the journey. Use what you find here to shift your focus and unfold into that space of returning to peace, clarity, and joy ever increasing.
Seek balance moving forward and handle your state of being with care.
Recover Yourself!
