The rest that my soul needed!
This past week I did something I never knew I needed. I took a vacation. However, the majority of it has been more of a stay-cation. That being said, it is was just what the doctor ordered for my soul. This past semester I have worked myself to new limits. I took on a more specific role at work, started seminary, and started my podcast! It seems as if everything was rolling, correct? Well, yes and no. At times I felt like I got the ball rolling, and others, well, I thought I was being rolled!
There was a constant battle within my soul. Not because of what I was doing, but because of what I wasn’t doing. In the past, I made sure to have quiet time, let my brain decompress, and contemplate life even. But as I became more responsible for my earthly duties, my brain began to feel clouded. Those days of contemplation were gone. I couldn’t think straight anymore. It all came to a head when I took my mom out for mother’s day; one simple question mentally shifted me into thinking I had not done enough at work the previous week. The conversation we had was light-hearted and fun, but my brain was weighed down by the mental failures I kept placing on myself. It was then when I knew I needed a break.
So then began the journey in which I was speaking about earlier, my stay-cation. The week started with a lot of abrupt changes. I deleted Facebook and Snapchat off my phone. I even logged out of my personal Instagram account and strickly operated my Uncommon Legend account. It was in these changes where I began to feel my mind clearing up. I felt like I could breathe again! I realized I was so fixated on notifications and connections that they had detached me from my own peace of mind. By the Friday, I felt so at peace that I went for a jog, which for me is out of place. Normally I go run, pacing myself to get a PR (Personal Record) each time. But this one was different. I took a slow pace, faster than walking but not nearly fast enough to hit my eight-minute and thirty-second time. I was slow and controlled, and I enjoyed it! It was then I realized I got the thing I was looking forward to the entire week, peace.
As I finish these last few words, I want you to know something. I never ask for help, never take days off, and don’t like to make spontaneous decisions, but this past week has been full of that, and I am grateful. I was able to recognize that my strategy was all wrong, and I needed to slow down. I was running myself ragged but had no idea how bad it really was. With that being said, I love work, I love doing my podcast and being a student. But there comes a time where even young men get tired, and I was one of them. I order for me to not get burned out and quit the very things I love to do, I have to step back recalibrate. I don’t know who will read this but heed my advice, slow down!
Uncommon Legend 
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