Gentle reminders for your tired Soul 🫶
I went away the other weekend, for *four* whole days 😅 . At the time, leading up to that weekend - I didn’t know that I needed it. I wasn’t exhausted, or stressed, or overwhelmed with life. It felt like an unnecessary thing, to just up and leave without the exhaustion telling me to go. I thought ‘oh I’m not stressed, I really don’t need a whole long weekend away…especially after a long weekend had just been’. I felt guilty or like the weekend was going to be ‘wasted’ because I wasn’t exhausted or *needing* time off.
That’s what capitalism and productivity culture has us believe. That we need to earn our rest. We need to deserve happiness and joy. Our worthiness for self-care or ‘selfish’ time is based on our level of burn out from serving others first. Rest is an expensive day spa weekend or a bottle of wine after a hard day…am I right, or am I right?!
But as soon as I got to my destination (gorgeous Streaky Bay, on the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula, South Aus) my whole body and being exhaled. It had been raining, and the sun was shining briefly between storm clouds. It was slightly humid and the earth was damp and warm. I took my shoes off and put my feet in the soil. My whole being hummed with the remembrance of what it feels like to be alive. And not just ‘alive’ in the sense of doing the thing, ticking off the to do lists and getting from A to B. I mean all-the-way ALIVE.
Slowing down allows me the ability to see, hear, feel and experience everything in its full range of textures, colours and senses. This is why my slow living practices are so important to me. It makes the world, and life, so much more alive. How does slowing down impact you?
So yes FYI…and not surprisingly…I really needed that weekend away. Even if not ‘exhausted’, my soul was tired of the daily grind. My soul desired connection - to the earth, to heart humans, to the ancestors of country that I was standing on. My body desired a type of slowness that needs help sometimes to be reached - once ‘disconnected’ from the day-to-day and immersed in new and natural environments. This is one of the reasons why the Wilpena Womens Weekend was curated - a transformational experience delivered in a way that enables all the busy and occupied women/mothers/corporate warrioress-es/carers…to fully exhale, and allow themselves to be taken care of, allow their bodies a soft inhale, and a space to truly focus on themselves, without the distractions or ‘needy-ness’ from outside influences. And - all on sacred Adnyamathanha Country, an opportunity to connect in a deeper way, to things beyond our general day-to-day comprehension.
In case you didn’t already know, your rest is a right, not a privilege. Taking a break even when you ‘just had a break’ is valid and necessary…you don’t need to ‘accumulate hours’ for rest or to first feel a certain level of burnt out. Your happiness and joy is essential to your being…find it and revel in it, as many times as possible throughout the day. Rest can be anything from sharing food with friends, or doing yoga, to sitting in the sun, to listening to a podcast, to taking 3 slow breaths…anything that fills your cup ♥️
Find your cup filler 🫶🏻
yours in slowness & rest - Sarah xo
Need help finding a cup filler, or filling your cup?
May Wilpena Womens Retreat Part-Scholarships available still.
Aug 31st-Sept 3rd & Oct 5-8th dates available.