rest & recuperation

This month my own coach encouraged me to stop and think about the real value of rest and recuperation. In our goal-driven society, with all the demands and obligations and aspirations we have, rest and recuperation is vital, but it's also something that can be hard to really give into. Sometimes what's even harder, though, is giving in and then having to come back! Which is what I experienced on my one-week vacation in late July.

Now as I prepare to go to Mexico for a week, it's as if everything feels accelerated, as if stepping away from it all feels at once like the most impossible and the most important thing I can do for myself. With my own clients, I work hard to cultivate balance and to honor where the writer needs to be. But I also strive to be tough, to hold people accountable, and to keep myself and my writers beating to the rhythm of a fairly steady drum. But all of us reach burnout. All of us get to a place where the only solution is vacation, stepping outside of our day-to-day, allowing oureslves to   s l o w    d o w n . . .

Because it's August, the summeriest of the summer months, I want to take a moment to honor rest and recuperation. We all need it, and where creativity is concerned, stepping away from our lives can bring much needed perspective. Away from email, phone, blogs, and television, we can disengage. Whether or not you're vacationing this month, consider that next time you go out of town. Make it a goal to disengage, as completely as possible, from all the things you're plugged into. For those of you who already make this a priority, excellent; for those of you who don't, don't underestimate its value for even a second. It's when we're away from the things that distract us where we can allow ourselves to get in touch with our deepest sense of self.

Happy End of Summer!

---Brooke

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