As a Reparenting coach I’m always looking for cracks in what we blindly believe culturally and collectively.
One of the big cracks that I believe is appearing to many of us is this notion that we must push through to succeed.
We live in a hustle culture, one that’s extracting endlessly from the resources of the earth. A culture that doesn’t value rest and reciprocity. If we do this to the Earth, then of course we also do this to ourselves.
This summer I relocated with my newly expanded family of four to Greece. I knew it would be a period of intense mothering so I purposely scaled back my workload as I always do come summer holidays.
Tending to two children no matter where you are is full of moments of wonder and exhaustion. There was so little time to myself that I let go of the future and tried to live in the now. The picture below is a time where I succeeded in that.
But I also kept experiencing guilt and anxiety about not working more, worrying about what would happen when I returned. I promised myself I would jump straight back on it when I returned in September.Except when that time came and I got more space, I didn’t feel inspired at all to work. I felt depleted and all I wanted to do was rest.
Society teaches us that we must push past any resistance if we want to grow and succeed.
I wish I could say I’m beyond that internal conflict but even with all my tools, that conditioning is still there. I battled with myself daily about the need to get back to work versus the desire to fully rest and receive.
Thankfully after some deep inner child work I realised what was happening. I made myself a commitment to take some time to recharge. I created space to do the things I love and put my needs first to bring my inner spark back.
I built a cocoon around myself and allowed a chrysalis to happen. Making that investment in myself means the work I do feels full of purpose and clarity. I let go of the pressure (real and imagined) and reminded myself what I know to be true.
When we want to make a quantum leap forward, sometimes we need to do nothing.
That seems counter intuitive but we only need to look to nature to understand the importance of retreating into winter. It may seem like nothing is happening but soon enough there is a full bloom of Spring occurring.
There is always a reciprocal relationship between rest and growth.
If we want to change the way the world operates, first we need to change ourselves. When we start to nurture and tend to ourselves fully we will begin to create big ripple effects around us.
Imagine how the world would change if we started to care more for one another? How do you make the steps within yourself for that to happen?
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