The world is a heavy place right now…
Regardless of your political, religious, or cultural beliefs, I think many of us can agree with that statement.
I have been having a mix of emotions over the last few weeks, myself, and have taken some extra time off to rest the last few days.
It has been nice having the last few days to create without my creator title. I’ve been taking some time off from my work to focus on creating what I want, on my time.
Creators are always trying to make the next best thing, keeping up with changing technology, new trends, all while managing multiple projects. It’s easy to forget about doing what we truly want to do.
The word “create” means to bring something into existence. It doesn’t say anything about being popular, publicity showing your work, conforming to a set timeline, or competing with others… It just means to bring something into existence.
And right now, I feel like all I can do is exist myself.
I don’t feel like churning out a post about how to DIY a coffee table or bake a new recipe because I have to test it for measurements, taste, and presentation. I don’t want to photograph a room I’ve been slowly decorating either.
I just want to exist. Then maybe within that space of existence I’ll be inspired to create something.
And at that time, I’ll be creating because I want to. Not with a schedule. No reels filmed to post on social to prove I did something.
Just inner inspiration. Just doing what I love.
I always hear an inner voice to “just rest,” and yet I continue to push through anyway. Every single day. For as long as I can remember.
But I am in a new season now.
This time I am choosing to listen to those words of wisdom. To just rest.
So if there’s nothing else you take from this post today, hear this: rest.
For an hour, a day, a week.
Rest for 10 minutes if that’s all you have.
Rest away from social media. Rest away from your partner for a while. Rest from that workout you don’t need to do every single day.
I am mentally exhausted. Emotionally burned out from the world around me. All I can think of right now is how much I’ve wanted to create away from my space here on the blog or social media.
I just want to watch reruns of Gilmore girls and hand letter calligraphy. Bake my favorite batch of cookies. Watch my garden grow and come to life. Sunbathe in the afternoon as I sip French-pressed coffee with fresh milk and honey. Read the novel I’ve been slowly working my way through for months. Flip through design books for fun.
I want to be able to play with my nephew without checking the clock every so often.
I want to be able to take a nap in the afternoon. Not because I’m lazy. Because I need one some days.
All these things have been swirling through my head for weeks.
I have a week I’m taking off at the end of July I’ve been looking forward to. But I couldn’t wait any longer—I need a break now, too.
I realized I’d be able to shake this feeling and all these desires if I just took a break and gave myself the freedom to do some of the things I truly wanted to do. Instead of focusing on the never-ending to-do lists of things I should do.
Life is always going to be full of to-do lists. They won’t ever end. That’s a sad realization some of us come to as an adult… that there will always be things we have to get done, like clockwork, each and every week.
But what if we decided to give ourselves the time and grace to do what we want to do… for an hour, a day, a week if you can afford it. How much inspiration could we gain after hours or days or weeks of rest? Could we fill our souls with all the things that really matter to us? Could we convince ourselves not to give up or at least feel like giving up because we decided to rest instead?
I am so thankful I still have the freedom to rest, because sometimes that’s the most powerful thing a person can do.
To stop running on the hamster wheel of life, to stop chasing what society tells us is worthy and makes us successful, to quit second guessing every single thing that we do… All because we were brave enough to “just rest.”
So here’s your reminder, your sign you’ve been waiting for, your “words of wisdom” for the Fourth of July holiday.
Rest.
The world feels very uncertain right now. But it can wait for now. Take care of yourself, friend.
