Slowing Down...

I've been feeling "low batt" lately and I can only think of one reason for it: BURN-OUT.

I work more than 8 hours a day from Mon-Fri, I spend hours on commuting, I go to school on Saturdays (and sometimes even go to the office for OT work after classes), and nights at home are spent in front of the PC (either doing more work or writing term papers for school). Thank God for Sundays, but even then I still have to "force" myself to rest. I've become as workaholic as my Japanese bosses.

For the past three weeks, I've been feeling really weak and sickly that I had to go see a doctor. No serious findings (except for the usual allergy-related ones). That's when I realized that this maybe just the Lord's way of reminding me to SLOW DOWN.

So this week, I made a resolution to do just that... And more. I promised that I will take care of myself more again. I will eat better, exercise more, and sleep more. Last night I had a two-hours massage.

Today, a Saturday, I didn't go to the office (the first time in really long while). Although I went for a walk at the park this morning, I spent most of the day just bumming around the house. Hey, I even took a long nap after lunch.

And then I chanced upon this... Something I got from the email some 8 years back. So fitting for my new resolution...

“Be still and know that God is in control.”
-- Psalm 46:11

• Slow down. God is still in heaven. You are not responsible for doing it all yourself – right now.
• Remember a happy, peaceful time in your past. Rest there. Each moment has richness that takes a lifetime to savor.
• Set your own pace. When someone is pushing, it’s okay to tell them they’re pushing.
• Take nothing for granted: water flows, corn grows, leaves blow.
• Take your food. God gives it to delight as well as to nourish.
• Notice the sun and the moon as they rise and set. They are remarkable for their steady pattern of movement, not their speed.
• Quit planning how you’re going to use what you know, learn, or posses. God’s gifts just are. Be grateful and their purpose will be clear.
• When you talk with someone, don’t think about what you’ll say next. Thoughts will spring up naturally if you let them.
• Talk and play with children. It will bring out the unhurried little person inside you.
  Create a place in your home, at your work, in your heart… where you can go for quiet and recollection. You deserve it.
• Allow yourself time to be lazy and unproductive. Rest isn’t luxury; it’s a necessity.
  Listen to the wind blow. It carries a message of yesterday and tomorrow – and now. NOW counts.
• Rest on your laurels. They bring comfort whatever their size, age, or condition.
  Talk slower. Talk less. Don’t talk. Communication isn’t measured by words.
• Give yourself permission to be late sometimes. Life is for living, not scheduling.
  Listen to the song of a bird – the complete song. Music and nature are gifts but only if we muse, ponder, and mull.
• Make time for play – the things you like to do. Whatever your age, your inner child needs recreation.
• Watch and listen to the night sky. It speaks.
• Listen to the words you speak – especially in prayer.
• Learn to stand back and let others take the lead. There will always be new opportunities for you to step out in front again.
• Divide big jobs into little jobs. If God took six days to create the universe, can you do any better?
• When you find yourself rushing and anxious, stop. Ask yourself WHY you are rushing and anxious. The reasons may improve your self understanding.
• Take time to read – the Bible, poetry, great books. Thoughtful reading is enriching reading.
• Direct your life with purposeful choices, not with speed and efficiency. The best musician is one who plays with expression and meaning, not the one who finishes first.
  Take a day off alone; make a retreat. You can learn from monks and hermits, without becoming one.
• Pet a furry friend. You will give and get the gift of now.
  Work with your hands. It frees the mind.
• Take time to wonder. Without wonder, life is merely existence.
• Sit in the dark. It will teach you to see and hear, and taste and smell.
• Once in a while, turn down the lights, the volume, the invitations. Less really can be more.
• Let go. Nothing is usually the hardest thing to do – but often it is the best.
  Take a walk – but don’t go anywhere. If you walk to just go somewhere, you sacrifice the walking.
• When things are in chaos and you are in frenzy, ask yourself: “What is right about now?” Chances are you already know what’s wrong.
• Count your blessings – one at a time and slowly.
• Enjoy the slow flow of your life… There’s really no need to be in a hurry.