Take 5…

So, summer’s here (in the UK a statement like this is likely to raise eyebrows and doubtful looks)… For many this is usually a season of rest (unless you have children, in which case it often amounts to a season of ‘change’)…

For so many of us the last (very long) season was filled with…wave after wave of disruption, highs and lows, stops and starts, confusion, anxiety, feeling confined, isolation, aloneness, loneliness, mourning, grief, elation, disappointment, resistance, regrouping, release, recovery… but hardly any time to catch a breath… and hardly any time for that altogether vital self-care we all need so (very) badly...

So, let’s begin today, not with grand gestures or unachievable goals but with a simple question… when was the last time you… took time to pause, to remember, to pray, to give thanks, to let go? When was the last time you listened to your favourite album, re-read your favourite book, watched your all-time favourite film, went out for a walk, really listened out for the chatter of the birds?  When did you last switch off your electronic device, put your ‘out of office’ message on? How are you going to find time, to carve out space, to pause, to take care of yourself… so that your soul can catch up with your body?

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the meaning of the latter phrase, I’m quoting from a friend of mine… ‘A wonderfully illustrative story is told of a westerner travelling in Africa who hired a guide to lead him through the jungle to a remote village. In the mid-afternoon the guide stopped and began to set up camp for the night. The westerner impatiently asked why they weren’t taking advantage of the remaining daylight to make it a bit further toward their destination. “We have travelled very fast and must allow time for our souls to catch up with our bodies,” replied the guide.

So, (as we’re all still in questioning mode) what would it look like for you to allow your soul to catch up with your body?’

Okay you’ve done the asking, that was yesterday (or the whole of last week even).  Today, it’s time to graduate… and just in case you’re wondering where to start and perhaps before you try any of the things listed above, why not ‘just take 5’, I mean literally take 5 minutes (disclosure: it’s actually just over 5 minutes) and go straight to one of my favourite tracks (or alternatively to one of your favourites) here (skip the ads) and while you’re at it… turn up the volume and simply breathe…