The New Cardinal Sin – Take A Break
More and more I hear from my clients what seems to be fast becoming an
impossible wish in our culture – to take a break from being perpetually
“plugged in” to a seemingly endless “to do” list. This implied societal sin has occurred
thanks, in part, to exploding technology, coupled with increasingly complex
personal and professional management challenges under the guise of being
productive at all costs.
I don’t think we’ve escaped the Puritan dictates that began our
country. As a matter of fact, I think
these “work, work, unceasing work” directives seem to reign supreme with the
fairly clear death of the 40-hour work week, the vast array of family external
activities that make predictable dinners a thing of the past, and the leakage
of these directives into leisure time.
The Technology-Driven Spider Web
Cell phones hog and dog us in restaurants, cars, and meetings. Somehow it is increasingly less permitted to
“unplug” from communication technology that, although it gets smaller and
lighter, spreads like a spider web to capture and link us to the world at large
“24-7”.
Today, as I saw clients in individual and work sessions, I heard the same
wistful request – to have it be okay to not have to be continually available to
our own, and others’, archetypal taskmasters.
It
Seems Odd Now . . .
I remember the days when I drove or sat in a car minus a cell phone. I remember the days when I sat in a
restaurant minus a cell phone.
I remember the days when there were no voice mails. I even remember the days when there were no
personal computers.
Plugged and Unplugged Through the
Spiritual Art of Letting Go
These and more related communication “toys” are an integral part of my life
now. And yet I note, much as I dread
power outages, the depth of the sudden, peaceful SILENCE when they occur – and the sense of overwhelming relief in the
midst of panic, over the inconvenience and shock of being unplugged.
I passionately work with people to plug in to their deeper, intuitive,
spiritual selves to ignite self-healing, insight, creative thinking, awareness,
and free emotional expression. I invite
them to even go deeper into this “space of no-thing” and ingest a most rare
commodity these days – the ability to completely let go.
The Capacity to Restore Joy
I believe this is still called taking a breather. Most well-named, I’m thinking. So why do we struggle so much with simply
giving ourselves well-earned permission to take this breather, a sure bridge to
wellness, ease and joy?
I met with a client today who “couldn’t remember what having fun was like .
. . couldn’t think of what fun is”.
Recovering What We Have Lost
What have we lost through the technological gains of the past two decades? Is that loss necessary? Can we recover and
better integrate letting go, letting be and unplugging in ways that serve,
recharge, heal
and empower us?
I, for one, am finally going to bed after a long, rich, achingly productive
day with very few “breathers” – finally, then, to breathe, escape, and guide
myself to a universe where being reigns supreme as one’s aware consciousness
agrees – and I invite you to do the same.
Count them, now – eyes closed, completely unplugged to the outside world –
five full, deep, easy breaths. And then simply let go, let be, and stay there
for a while, for an endless while . . .
Restoring Our Power to Create A
World
We do know how to create peace – and be our own free, empowered person. What kind of world could all of us then
create?
Happy landings . . .