There’s More to Life Than Being Busy: Why I Took a Pressure-Free Pause

a post by Will Aylward for the Tiny Buddha blog

“When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another – and ourselves.” ~Jack Kornfield

It was a Monday a few weeks ago, 6:00am, and I was taking a morning walk. The only light in sight was the neon yellow glare of the street lamps.

My heart was heavy. It was as if someone had cut my chest open while I was asleep and slipped a cannonball inside.

My alarm had awoken me at 5:00am, as it had every morning since the start of the year.

My shoes crunch-crunched in the snow as I trudged along, ignoring this dull ache in my chest, telling myself “It's just resistance to being up so early. Keep pushing through; gotta get those 12,000 steps today, Will.”

I got to the end of the road, a mere eighty or so meters from my house, and WHOOSH, a wild wave of emotions washed over me, forcing me—jolting me—to stop walking and stand still and silent in the snow.

I stood and stood as if I'd fallen asleep upright and frozen to death.

This whooshing wave felt like a panic attack. Except it wasn't.

It was this feeling coming from my chest, the one I had tried to ignore. If its first attempt to get my attention was a whisper, this was a shout.

Continue reading

---