Rest.
It was such a 4-letter word for me.
I didn’t want to do it as a kid (unless we got a gold star for it in Kindergarten)
And I didn’t want to do it as a teen (FOMO was alive and well in me, early on)
And I didn’t want to do it as an entrepreneur who loves to create and innovate and be around people, places, and things that inspire me.
And yet, I was very. much. called to it.
Rest.
It became my journey.
—-
Hashimoto’s slowed me down significantly.
Not just with gaining 100 pounds, but with a thyroid that was slow enough to pack on that much weight it also brought me to a grinding halt.
No energy to exercise
Or clean
Or cook
Or play
Or perform anymore on the stage (I was a professional musician)
Every cell in my body just really needed to
Rest.
So, I sat a lot.
On my couch
In my yard
By the ocean.
And as I often say to my coaching clients,
“When you sit yourself down
Stuff comes up.”
Which it did.
For me.
In spades.
Oy vey…
I got really clear that I was running, running, running all the time…
Not just because I was interested and bright
But because I was living like I was being chased by a bear
My adrenaline was at full-throttle
And the bear was so many different things:
Perfectionism
Performing for others
Fear of disappointing
Guilt
Needing to be worthy enough by working a lot and earning my keep
Past trauma from a lifetime of stress
Anxiety
Avoiding God’s punishment (like God couldn’t hit a moving target…)
Afraid of the where the world was heading
Feeling other people’s energy (as an empath) and not knowing what to do with their energy
Not feeling okay in my own skin/being me
Afraid of seeing the worst parts of me, yet always thinking the worst of me
Feeling like I had failed
Like I had ruined life
Not feeling safe
Yeah, holy shit, sitting down brought a LOT of stuff up.
And through the long and winding road of my sitting journey, which led to a stillness practice that I have done for years now, I learned one HUGE thing that has stayed with me:
Rest is ALL about trust.
When we trust, we feel safe.
And when we don’t
Either our body gets busy
Or our mind gets busy
Or our mouth gets busy
And when we can’t handle the restless busy-ness
We do things to distract us.
Like social media
And drinking
And drugs
And eating (especially carbs)
And overthinking
And shopping
And more social media
And reality shows
And creating drama
And chaos
In our lives
And others
Because making messes and cleaning them up
Can keep us
Very
Very busy
And when we’re that busy
We can’t see
That we don’t trust…
And when we can’t see that we don’t trust
We can’t see how much we need to rest.
Unless something hits us over the head
(like Hashimoto’s)
And slows us down.
And here’s the thing:
Rest shows up in two major ways:
Sleep at night
And
Peace during the day.
So, I tell my clients: If you’re having sleep or peace issues (and you’ve checked on all the possible nutritional needs and deficiencies) then, the one thing you might be needing the most is
Vitamin T
As in “Trust.”
But it’s not going to happen by you doing more of the same, old distracting stuff.
Nope.
It’s going to come through
Rest.
Yup.
The thing that you’re avoiding the most
Is the remedy that you need the most.
—–
I can’t tell you how different my life is.
And I don’t just mean losing more than 100 pounds or having energy to lead Italian retreats and walk 8 miles a day when I’m on my own in Florence… nope.
I’m talking about being able to see that when we’re restless
It’s likely because we’re trust-less
And the answer isn’t more social media, potato chips, or wine…
It’s not in cleaning the baseboards
Or starting a fight with your spouse.
Nope.
The answer is to sit yourself down
And instead of doing
You start receiving.
As in:
The truth of who you are
The truth of who God is
The truth of what your worth is
And your value is
When you can’t even lift a finger
Or contribute anything you think is ‘worthy’ or ‘important’
To the world.
When you know that,
From the inside out, then
Peace settles in during the day
And
You settle into sleep during the night.
Your life looks different
Because you see yourself differently…
Through eyes of peace
And acceptance
And grace
And forgiveness…
And you stop running around
Like you’re being chased by a bear.
And the four-letter word you resented so. much.
Leads you to the four-letter word you can now feel
Because when we trust
We can rest
And when we rest
We have peace
And when we have
Peace, trust, and rest
We are living in
Love.
Stacey Robbins is an Author, Personal Coach, and Italian Retreat Leader. You can find her retreats and books at www.staceyrobbins.com and you can find her courses and membership at www.staceyrobbinscoaching.com
Friends: Take on this daily stillness practice that changed my life 15 years ago: Sit or lie still for 15 minutes a day and simply receive. Do this for 30 days, every day, and then e-mail me about the changes in your life. I can’t wait to hear, because I know how it’s changed mine! contact@staceyrobbins.com