Take Time to Stop & Smell the Basil

Stop & Smell the Basil

Life is terribly fast and short. We live in a society that pushes us to rush through the days. I read humorous posts about friends running themselves ragged to work, hauling kids from lessons to practices to games to parties and appointments and activities or school, running errands, handling life, feeding the dogs, shopping. A life in which we spend two or three or more precious hours of our lives sitting in traffic on an interstate going nowhere - just to get home from work. Every. Day. (Include that time in your salary per hour and see what that does to your calculations!)

It seems we don't value our quiet time, our personal time, down time, and relaxation time anymore. It appears that we must go, do, conquer, and post it on Facebook for the world to applaud our busy hamster wheel accomplishments. How does all this rushing and running and being pulled in multiple directions all at one time help us?

If you’re feeling stressed, busy, harried, anxious, frazzled, exhausted, rundown or just plain ol’ tired. Stop for a minute. Take a deep breath. We usually feel those things when our life is out of balance. If you aren’t taking time to nurture yourself, care for yourself, rest, relax, rejuvenate or simply enjoy yourself and laugh for a little bit. Then stop what you’re doing, whatever else you have to do today – do you really HAVE to do it? (Yes? Okay well continue on, but come back when you’re done with that.)

As women, mothers, sisters, daughters, friends – as women we tend to care take for everyone else. All the time. The thing is if you never take care of your own self then you won’t be able to take care of those other people who count on you – the kids, spouses, clients, bosses, family, friends in our lives. What does the flight attendant tell us on the plane (do you pay attention to that boring lifesaving stuff?!) You have to put the oxygen mask on your face before you can help those around you.

Set an appointment with yourself. Take a time out or schedule a day or an hour later this week to just sit and smell some metaphorical flowers, go for a walk, dig in a garden, stroll through a cornfield or a nature trail, sit under a tree, perch in your backyard, lay back at gaze at the clouds or cuddle up and watch the stars, go for a bike ride or walk the dog. Write a poem, sing a song, do a dance, hum a little tune. Whatever. Put down your phone, turn it off, and spend an hour with you, yourself, and you! Take some me, myself, and I time to reconnect with the person you’ll spend your entire eternity with: You.

Be your best YOU & be nice to yourself,
Ramsey