Stop Pushing Yourself So Hard, You Deserve A Break

Do you ever sit in Nature?

Throw your phone away, open your eyes to the beauty of the vivid colors around you, listen to the breeze of life and feel yourself being continuously supported by the Earth–even in your moments of uncertainty.

From bacteria, to fishes, to reptiles, birds, mammals, human beings–you and me–we were once nothing but dust, born from the depths of the Earth.

Yes, that's what we once were, no matter what we look like today, or how far we've come–this is what we all still are–desire.

We are the desire to thrive against adversity, transcend our limitations no matter how painful our current situation feels, and experience the ecstasy of exploring our unlimited possibilities.

Whether we do this by getting ourselves out of a tough financial situation, or by exercising to live a healthier life, or by simply being "us" for once in our life, and sharing our unique gifts with the world.

The journey is what makes it worth it. This is what makes living worth it.

The excitement to explore what we're capable of achieving keeps us going. It's why we make resolutions after all, to improve ourselves and the quality of our lives.

While we still enjoy this growth process, in thriving against adversity so many times, we came to believe that we are separate from the environment in which we exist. In fighting so hard to survive, we made it into our enemy.

Once upon a time, the Earth was our number one supporter. She guided us through our fights, and She cheered us up when we needed it. Yet, by repeatedly viewing the environment as a means to our desired ends–we slowly forgot our vital relationship with the Earth.

We've ignored our connection with Nature to such an extent that it went into the depths of our subconscious. And now, even the idea of being connected to the Earth feels bizarre to most of us.

What maintains our body alive? Food, water, oxygen–from the Earth. Where does our body return to? To the Earth.

Look at the birds and how they open their wings, you'd think that they're fighting hard to fly against an "evil" wind but no, pay attention–they're opening themselves to the wind so that it carries them around. That's fun.

There's a cat in the bushes. She's walking slowly, with the fullest of attention–she found dinner–yet after a few minutes, she's simply sharpening her claws on the poor coconut tree that don't really bother, before lying on the ground, and turning herself in the moisturized soil.

Nature lives instant by instant. We came out of Nature and we are the embodiment of Her ways.

While living in our boxes, eating from our boxes, moving with our boxes, and returning to the Earth in a box may have created an illusion of separateness with Nature–we can't deny the fact that we're intimately connected to the Earth. Doing so will only make us more miserable, and today, this is truer than ever.

We're unhappy. We believe that living means being busy. And being busy drains our life force, our vitality, our creativity.

In being so occupied with running after so many things, the only reminder we have about how fast time is going is the new year.

While it's great to push ourselves to achieve things, most of us are just busy being busy. We don't know why we're doing what we're doing. We are entrepreneurs, fitness influencers, caffeine addicted writers, vegan popstars. Et cetera.

Being split up in so many directions ruins our health. Not only are we confused internally by not knowing what we really want, but this confusion manifests itself in our daily life through how dissipated and exhausted we all are.

We eat so much, yet we never have the energy to live. We have smart houses, security and things that would look like magic to our ancestors–yet we don't sleep.

Some of us have the luxury of vacations, yet, we remain bombarded by thoughts the moment we're left alone, and we can't wait to get busy again so that we don't have to deal with all this mess within.

Is this how we were meant to live? Or have we made our lives this way?

We've kept ourselves busy. We've designed the most complex of plans. We've built the most magnificent of cathedrals. Yet, more and better never seems to be the answer. In keeping ourselves entertained, we forget what living means.

And today, we're paying the price for it. We don't enjoy our lives. The pleasures of the senses are pushed to the extreme. We demand more and more from the world, and our excesses destroy it as a direct consequence.

Keep your eyes opened. Listen to the bees. Watch the butterflies dancing together. Do you see how receptive flowers are to the sunlight? Can you sense how filling this silence is? Nothing seems to be happening and yet, there's so much life everywhere.

In pushing ourselves so hard, we deny what we are. In denying what we are, we lose our connection with life. In losing our connection with life, we become miserable.

The last few years have shown us that our old ways need to change. The world is presenting us new challenges, and to deal with them we will have to think anew, change our approach and become humble again, once again.

Living means paying attention. To live means to learn. To learn invites growth. In bringing attention into our lives, from the simplest to the most complicated task–we infuse everything we touch with aliveness.

While many of us are in need of physical rest because of how much we've pushed ourselves, what we truly need is an internal rest. We can still keep living our lives the "normal" way, but internally, we need a break.

We need to stop being so loyal to what's expected from us, and start paying attention to what we need.

A good practice to make this happen is mindfulness, or simply watching your thoughts from time to time. Notice your feelings, pay attention to your body's state–all of it brings you back into alignment with life.

Eventually, the "drive" to go back to your "roots" will be more natural.

Your body will bring you closer to Nature, because that's where it feels best. And to your surprise, you'll notice that the smell of flowers, the colors of leaves, the supporting ground–you'll notice that something in you responds to Nature. Something deep within you, a part of you that never forgot where it came from.

Everywhere, whether it's animals or plants, everything teaches us to live in the moment. We can fulfill our role in the world and still be still within.

There's no need to push ourselves so hard. Whatever we're working on, it must come from a place of enjoyment. We have to learn to live before we lose ourselves in the madness of the world.

While having a resolution is a nice yearly thing, what matters most is being committed to our wellbeing–we get to spend our life with ourselves, and to be able to give the best of us requires that we're sane, healthy and strong enough.

Instead of switching direction every now and then, it's best to connect to the fundamentals of life. Learning to live is the work of a lifetime. And it's always better to bet on the long term.