the gift of detaching
how often do you detach? how often do you pull yourself away from the noise of the world, the expectations of your peers? how often do you keep your inbox closed? how often do you allow yourself to miss out?
we’re caught in a state of continual vigilance when we rarely disconnect from the stream of opinions, information and perspectives readily at our fingertips. this vigilance translates into heightened states of anxiety which place stress on the physical body. the research is extensive on the connection between stress and inflammation-related disease. I highly recommend checking out the New York Times Bestseller Becoming Supernatural by Dr. Joe Dispenza to delve into the chemical breakdown of how stress affects our body & mind, and the powerful tools we have to heal ourselves from within. our fear of missing out is, in the long run, keeping our bodies in a perpetual stress response which erodes our immune system and hampers our ability to think clearly. the greatest gift we can give ourselves at times is to step away from the noise, come into silence and rest within.
what can this look like? perhaps it’s kindly declining an invite to socialize when you know you want to spend the evening on the couch. it’s not opening your work email when you’re not working. it could be turning off the tv in favor for a book, or closing the book and picking up a journal. it could be taking a break from the news, or from social media, or from responding to that misery-loves-company person who always gets you to join the pity party. maybe it’s taking a silent drive when you would normally sneak a podcast episode in. maybe it’s booking a flight with no return ticket. maybe it’s closing your eyes and listening to the sound of your breath before sleep.
we need to give ourselves ample time and space to allow our tightly wound nervous systems to unravel, bit by bit. we need to afford ourselves the ample physical, mental and emotional space to do this. experiencing moments or periods of nothingness- of zero point- coming back fully to our own minds and selves with no outside influence- this is crucial for finding healing and balance. religions and spiritual practices across the world acknowledge this fact in many ways- through activities such a prayer, contemplation, meditation, chanting, trance dance, breathwork- the list goes on and reflects a seemingly universal truth: there is something within us that we access through stillness and introspection.
in my personal experience, I have awakened a deeper understanding of life and discovered a fountain of creativity by turning slightly away from the external and facing inward- if only for a moment. it can be uncomfortable to rewrite old habits, and one at first may feel behind or out of the loop by focusing on an inner journey. however, the loop you have gotten yourself “out of” is a treadmill, constantly cycling and consuming itself. direct your energy instead towards the dreams you want to fulfill, the life you want to live, the environment you want to experience. pull back from the world and into yourself enough to start to discover, acknowledge, honor and then champion that which you truly want in your heart of hearts. there’s a world of meaning and possibility that is waiting to be uncovered.
always,
emily