For the past several weeks, we’ve been talking about a compassionate approach to understanding others, called the suitcase analogy. If you missed it, you should check it out! Last week, I literally got my suitcases out and traveled, for the first time ever, to Europe. It’s been since the holidays since I put my feet up for more than a few hours. So, I left for much-needed rest and rejuvenation. 

In hindsight, I want to reflect on the importance of rest. In our performative culture, we often equate rest to “sleep” or “stopping.” But when I looked up other definitions of rest, I found this beautiful example, “to cease movement to relax, refresh, or recover.” And that’s exactly what I did. If I’m honest, I am CONSTANTLY in motion, busy, and scheduled. I rarely slow down. I know this is not always healthy and I know where it comes from. Between living in a performative culture and being raised by hard-working parents, I internalized a message that being busy was worth it. Add that to being a first-born, first-generation college student, graduate-school-recovering professional, mom, perfectionist, all the things – you can imagine that work gets away from me and rest can often feel as if it escapes from my fingertips. 

So, I leaned heavily into rest and recovery. My body needed to recover. To breathe. To be connected with my amazing husband. And to check out from my business. This spring, and last year, the growth of my business has been amazing! I’m so grateful. And, I was SO TIRED. 

Focusing on rest, refresh, and recovery took a big mindset shift for me. It meant preparing for my absence, trusting my team with work, and taking big chunks of time away from my computer, the internet, and my phone. And I’m better because of it. My family and marriage certainly are too! My mantra this whole time was: “It will be ok. Someone else can figure it out. You have a village.” 

So, friends, as I lean into late spring and early summer, I do so with a lens of recovery and rest. I cannot wait to see what the rest of 2024 looks like! Let’s go!