Slowww………down, easy guuurrrllll, STOP!

Throughout June and July, this has been my mantra.

I know I’m not alone when I say the past couple of years for various reasons life has been hard. War, pandemics, inflation and not to mention just existing in our own daily life routines and struggles.

I found myself in a place of constant stress and feelings of being overwhelmed and stagnant. Something in my gut was telling me ‘you are not ok’.

I was burnt out and suffocating with anxiety and the need to self-soothe through non-conducive measures. I was unhappy and numb. Life was hard. So……………………… I Stopped!

I knew I didn’t want to live like this my mental and physical health was suffering. I made an unorthodox decision (in our current society) to just fu#@ken STOP. But this is real life and one cannot just simply put the brakes on. I had to make a few decisions that would impact those around me. I organized time off my muggle job and had lengthy conversations with my supportive husband and family and I STOPPED.

Ahhhhh, the guilt that comes with that alone brought on a sense of being out of control. But I knew if I didn’t initiate some sort of break/change things for me would escalate. I’ve never been one to be content on just existing and that was what I was doing. Going through the stressful, mundane existence, I wasn’t coping.

I am so very blessed that I was able to create time and space for myself to just STOP.

To be, to think, process, and respond to how I was in my own being at this point in my life. We live in such a fast-paced, be productive or your worthless world now. Where it’s frowned upon to have time out or take time just for nothing, to just be…to STOP is seen as a flaw. So much chaos and words and images and noise and feelings and thoughts are thrown at us every day. It’s a lot to process.

In the past, they didn’t have this constant feed of stimulation.

Life was quieter and harder in its own right.

Things were simpler and a lot more meaningful.

Life was slower and people lived a lot more consciously.

There are aspects of history and vintage life I have the highest respect for and mourn that these are no longer a part of our lives.

The ability to BE.

So, I STOPPED. I slowed everything right down for a while, almost dormant if you will. I allowed myself to be. I went quiet and withdrew from society and allowed myself time and space. I cut the noise out and grew strong through healthier habits and changed my mindset.

It was definitely like a rebirth. Ok, maybe not that dramatic, but the feeling of being in a cocoon and remerging stronger, healthier, and happier were experienced. So, I guess what I wanted to convey is

It’s ok to slow down, to take time out, to be …..to STOP!

In fact, I now see it as a form of self-medication like my long-deserved glass of Merlot at the end of a busy week.

I hold the old ways in such regard. It is because of my love of how we used to do things that really bought home to me that it’s ok to STOP.

I am again finding joy in cooking more, being in my garden more, making things from scratch more, and ultimately slowing down.

Winter was always a natural time to go within and allow yourself time to rest after a busy summer of growing and autumn harvest. I resonate with this so very much.

It is a vulnerable yet powerful thing to open oneself up. To let others peer into a wound.

Thank you for your time my vintageers.

Lyzaxox