Want to know a secret? I haven’t blogged in ten days. Maybe you noticed, or maybe you didn’t. I pride myself on my (mostly) consistent blogging because in my life it’s pretty easy not to be consistent and you might not know it, but I can be pretty flighty. I have commitment issues.
What have I been up to?
I’ve been soaking up inspiration, creativity, and healing. I’m pretty good at recognizing the signs of burn-out and doing what I need to do before I fully reach that point.
I’ve got burn-out-busting skills.
Whenever I start feeling the yucky feelings cropping up I immediately go into Epic Self Care Mode. I cut out the daily biz things that aren’t absolutely necessary. I sleep a lot, or spend time reading a lot, or hours in a warm bath. Water is a great healer to me. When I take a wee step back, turn my energy inward instead of outward, fill up my inner well, immerse myself in love for myself and love for what I do, things start getting better. It’s a bit of an “absence makes the heart grow fonder” thing. When I step back it allows me to wholly and fully appreciate what I do and why I do it.
Allow yourself to step back, but don’t allow yourself to run away.
If you’re doing something that matters to you, that makes you happy, that fills you up, don’t let a bad week, or even a bad month make you think that you should give up. When you put a lot of energy, love, and devotion into a project sometimes your reserves get low and you have to give them time to replenish themselves. It’s not a sign that it’s not meant to be. It’s not a sign that you ought to give up.
This week’s oracle card from the Gaia Oracle is Ocean of Eternal Love and the message is so spot on for where I’ve been the last few weeks. Love has an amazing power to heal. It has the ability to change and transform the things around us. This card reminds us of that power.
Now is the time to plant seeds in a barren land and watch them begin to flourish. This could be a project that we’ve been scared to start, or something inside of us that we are willing to work on. If we allow ourselves to love through the process it gives us the power to make the changes and the miracles that are waiting to burst into our lives.
This was such a needed piece to read. I started my first and current blog short before June which was an extremely rough month for me. Before the drama that occurred then I was blogging regularly each week and reaching myself out to other blogs (like yours) and sharing thoughts/ideas, but I had to step back for much longer than I thought. I think a little too long.
Like you say here, when we feel a burn-out approaching, a step-back for self-care is absolutely necessary, but I, too, have commitment issues. During my hiatus, I never found the right time or place to write something new or meaning; I didn't have the energy, heart, or desire. Many days I figured it had been just another phase of surging creativity that had now come to it's end, and I stopped reading my favorite blogs all together.
The blogs I read and my blogging are such a core part of me that this absence was definitely felt in my life through my mindset, actions, and daily emotions. Finally I owned up to the fact that I needed to start writing and sharing my thoughts and feelings again.
You summed all of this up perfectly for me here and encouraged me further to keep it up! I adore your blog, ways of writing, and everything you have to say. So glad you took time for yourself and returned when you were able.