People, the environment and animals grow and regenerate in distinct ways, yet they all have something in common: movement. We live in a fast-paced and constantly changing world, we all learned to move, yet, most of us can’t stop.
In this context, I would like to compare life to a Ferris Wheel: it goes round and round, it gets tired and rusty, and when reaches its limit, it stops. Now I ask you, would you like to live like this?
No matter what you do in your life, society requires you to do it “right” and if you happen to fall once or twice, you’ll not be forgiven. All this then leads to our Ferris Wheel, everyone moves, but nobody stops. If someone manages to take a break, it never lasts long, because “duty before pleasure“.
But is rest a luxury?
We’re not machines that never get tired, we don’t want to be one; All of us are living beings who, like everyone else, have the right and need to listen to our body and mind.
They always tell us to look at the consequences if we rest too much or go on vacation for more than a month, but they never inform us otherwise.
Listening to ourselves is indispensable for our mental and physical health. Bodies and minds are limited because they cannot bear the weight of the world. The consequences here are many: stress, anxiety, depression, bone and skin diseases, the list goes on and on.
What can you do for yourself?
1. Accept that you are not doing well
We live in a present full of technology, but mental health is still considered taboo. Furthermore, this and the physical one are very often correlated and we do not even notice it. If you can’t accept that you are suffering, you can’t move forward.
2. Find your needs
If your body tells you to lie down on the bed and sleep 10 hours, listen to it; if your mind tells you to go on vacation for a month, listen to it.
These two examples are extremely limited, but when you listen to yourself, you already have the solution in your hands, and it will only get many benefits.
A more rested mind works better, is grounded and lives in the present. It can make better choices and chase away invasive thoughts.
A more rested body helps you stay healthy, and feel less tired, fatigued and pained.
Each of us is involved and responsible for our own life. Rest is great, but it shouldn’t be taken as an excuse to laze around or face problems wherever we are. If this is the reason for the rest, then there’s an underlying problem and we should ask ourselves how can we solve certain situations in another way and moment; rest is not only physical, so if you use it as an excuse for any of these things, you are not fully resting, as your mind will be full of things to think about, and once you realize this, you will be in chaos.
Body and mind are one and they shape our organism. We, like the surrounding environment and animals, are living beings, and for this reason, we deserve to be treated as such, by ourselves and by others.
Author – Denise Ledda
2 responses to “Listen to yourself – Mind and Body”
I think #2 is so important because even if someone accepts that they’re not doing well, what’s paramount is figuring out how to change the situation. No point accepting the burns if we’re still gonna stay in the fire. Thanks for this post!
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Yes absolutely! But I also think that the two points coexist, one cannot exist without the other, after all, the goal is to improve ourselves!
Thanks for reading and for your attention, I appreciate it!