During times of really big growth, it can be easy to want to push through to the next thing. You may be used to always looking forward, keeping your calendar full of activities. This can make for a very rich, full, and experiential life. Yet, when you find yourself in a really big place of growth in your life, it may take something different.
You may find that you need to give to yourself in a new way. You may start to notice you crave different things, foods, places, staying home, sleeping more, exploring new ideas, etc. This new desire may feel foreign at first like the thing you shouldn’t be doing. On top of that, our culture and society programs us to produce, to show up, and to keep going as a form of validating yourself both within and externally. Shouldn’t you be at every social engagement, and working on work, and exploring that new project all at once always?
Rest is equally important during times of growth. It is a great way for the body to sort of catch up to where your spirit has been working. You know what it’s like when you move to a new city and immediately get so busy you don’t have time to really process the move, the life changes, the social change, the changes within you - until you slow down and have some time to yourself.
Just like the seasons change, and with that comes different needs, your needs may vary when you are in a growth period. Perhaps those new things become habits or they are there to support you like a bridge giving you safe passage to the other side.
Occasionally, if you don’t give your body what it needs to support your growth, it will find ways to get it. Your body is very smart in this way. This is when you might find yourself down for the count with a cold, sleeping for most the day, less working, and binge watching netflix. In extreme cases, you might have an injury or an illness that makes you stop, take stock of what is happening in your life, and look to what you truly need moving forward.
In giving your body time to rest - to not be responsible to do anything - it can have the time it needs to change, evolve, and catch up to the new reality you are stepping into in your life. From there, you will have a new supportive base within you that stabilizes your ability to thrive within all that newness.
