“Rest and be thankful.” ―William Wordsworth
Does peace seem impossible to attain?
Are these thieves stealing yours?
Busyness
Life can seem so full there is not time to rest and reflect. The calender is full of appointments, meetings, things to do and people to see.
It’s OKAY to not be busy. Don’t wear being busy like a badge of honour. Life should not feel like a bubbling crock pot, ready to spill over. Society can at times make you feel like you are missing out if you don’t have a full diary. Don’t buy into this falsehood. Don’t let being busy become your default. Find freedom in doing less.
“Those who are wise won’t be busy, and those who are too busy can’t be wise.” – Lin Yutang
Worry
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” – Corrie ten Boom, Clippings From My Notebook.
Being a worrier steals your joy and leaves you high and dry. Most things you worry about come to nothing and the thing you worried about last week is often a distant memory. Mark Twain said “worrying is like paying a debt you don’t owe”. Worrying can become habitual, almost superstitious with the notion of ‘something is bound to go wrong’. With worry often comes catastrophising, black and white worst case scenario imagery. It rarely comes to fruition.
Life is precious and at times fragile, but don’t waste valuable time worrying about everything. Ask yourself, is this worry true, how likely is it to happen and how bad is it really?
How to stop worrying, and start living – Dale Carnegie
Regret
“The feelings that hurt most, the emotions that sting most, are those that are absurd – The longing for impossible things, precisely because they are impossible; nostalgia for what never was; the desire for what could have been; regret over not being someone else; dissatisfaction with the world’s existence. All these half-tones of the soul’s consciousness create in us a painful landscape, an eternal sunset of what we are.” – Fernando Pessoa
Why didn’t I do it. Why did I do it. I should have known better. I wish I had another chance. I should have been a better wife, daughter friend, husband, sister, brother. Let go.
Regret is an emotion that comes about after reflection and hindsight is a great thing but none of us can go back. It might be time to put a full stop, say sorry if need be, forgive someone, forgive yourself and move on.
Leisure
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
