Ahhhhhhh. I bring you this week's Blog from Akumal, Mexico, where I've spent days of being unplugged, not knowing what time it is, surrounded by people who love me dearly, and allowing myself to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n.
I've spent most of my life moving quickly: I married at age 19, gave birth to my daughter at 22 and my son at 26, completed a Master's degree just a month before my son's arrival, developed a successful corporate career with increasing achievement by 38, and purchased a house in an upscale neighborhood that I had always wanted. I felt I had DONE the things in life I'd set out to do.
And, I felt completely empty.
The dismantling began for me at age 40, when I spoke into what I was feeling without filters: I was drowning; I had lost myself; I felt unheard; I felt alone; I felt exhausted.
It was a crippling time. Divorce followed. Shifts in all parts of my life ensued. I became alone. For the first time, I was my refuge. I focused on my children and my work. I didn't fit, any longer, in the social circles of couples, and I didn't know what the next chapter held for me.
I recall this to share that the biggest lessons I learned, then, are the lessons I still am learning: go where you soul feels calm, with those who love you, and slow down.
- Where is that for you, where your soul feels calm?
- Who are the people who love you dearly?
- What does that look like for you, to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n?
Seek what it is you LOVE in this life. Seek what fills your soul.
You will NEVER be sorry.