I’ve been feeling run down lately so I decided to rest. This wasn’t as easy as I initially thought. I was lying down on my sofa, feeling guilty for not keeping up with my to-do list. This is while my neck was aching and I felt too weak to move. I was truly exhausted and hadn’t been sleeping very well.
Fear of Falling Behind
Many of us are afraid to take sick days, depending on the culture of your workplace. With the pandemic, you would think that people would be more understanding, but the work first culture of this country makes it difficult to switch people’s thinking. One good trend that arose was that people are able to work from home more easily when they are feeling under the weather.
Ask for help
This is hard for many of us, but is there someone you can ask to help you? Even if you think you are imposing on someone, most people will be more than happy to help you. You may hesitate to ask family members to support you, but why not?
Permission to Rest
Just the fact that you’re run down means your body is screaming for rest. Now is the time to take it easy and rest. If you power through, you may feel worse later on. If you’re coming down with frequent colds, figure out how you can reduce the stress in your life for the long-term. It may require deeper reflection to see what isn’t serving you and working in your life.
The first meditation I saw while resting on my sofa was a meditation for when you’re sick. I believe the universe was sending me a message. The teacher had a cold himself so he was being authentic. He talked about permission to rest. He mentioned there was nowhere else to be and nothing else to do. This is something I’ve heard countless times, but this message landed as if I heard it for the first time. I guess it took being run down to let the message sink in and not rush to the next activity. Everything else could all wait for another time.
There are seasons of life, when your body will be more run down than usual and you will get sick more frequently. Becoming friends with your body means you will notice the signals and honor yourself and your needs.
