Month: September 2020

I was listening to The Next Right Thing podcast episode 2 , and I felt inspired. Emily P. Freeman talks about “soul minimalism” and how we need to take time to rest in God, even just five minutes.

I’ve been feeling stressed and overwhelmed. When I get that way I tend to try harder and harder. But then I burn out. Because I’m carrying burdens that God didn’t intend for me. When your body is aching and your mind is racing and it wasn’t because of an unexpected emergency or something of that nature , it’s time for some rest. It’s time to stop for a moment .

What is the goal of the five minutes?

There is no correct way to do this which is why it’s so hard for go-getter types to do this. Just set a timer for 5 minutes , lay down , and close your eyes. By doing this you are making space in your soul for God to come in and carry your burdens. You stop doing. You realize everything will still be waiting for you when you are done. God is with you.

But I don’t have time

A wise priest once said at mass that if we feel like we have no time to pray that we actually don’t have time not to pray. The same goes for resting. When we get to the point of such stress and overwhelm that we are saying “I don’t have time I don’t have time” that is EXACTLY when we need to stop.

But I have kids

So do I. You can take 5 minutes before they get up, when they are taking a nap, after they go to bed, while they are watching TV or incentive-ize it and offer a reward for giving you 5 minutes. Or teach them how to do it too. That would be a great lesson!

Now I feel more overwhelmed

Emily P. Freeman said this can happen. But doing this more often will help decrease and slow down all the worry in your mind. Just keep doing it.

Don’t fall into this trap

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you will feel completely better after taking this moment of rest. That’s not the point. The point is realizing that it’s okay for you to stop doing for a moment. The whole world doesn’t depend on you. You are not God. Give yourself a moment to rest in Him and be His child. That’s what you are, afterall.

I don’t know about you, but when I think of self-care I think of spending money and buying something for myself, or taking a bubble bath, or painting my nails.

But I think there’s a better way to get the most out of your self-care time. You have to consider your life wheel. If you are someone who is on top of personal grooming, taking a bubble bath isn’t going to impact you the same way that it would for someone who neglects this area. You have to pay attention to your feelings because they will clue you in on where you may be put of balance. For instance, I have been feeling inadequate and comparing myself to other people when it comes to work done for money. I was listening to the Clutterbug podcast and she was talking about making yourself proud and honestly is was exactly what I needed to hear. She said we need to take small steps and do things that make us proud. It could take 10, or 15 minutes. I recently started homeschooling so I feel good about where I’m at as a mom and teacher, I have also been spending time on my home and decorating recently which is great, but I’ve neglected money-making opportunities like selling things online, blogging, my podcast , etc as well as being taking time to be social. I also got off track with exercise in the past week because of the poor air quality here in California. So taking Clutterbug’s advice , I made a list of small things I can do to feel proud. That’s why I’m writing this blog post right now.

Instead of “I feel sad so I need to watch a movie…”, you need to think deeper. It turns out the best self-care isn’t always resting and pampering but sometimes it’s producing something or helping someone or creating something.