The silence between notes

Where is your "Pause" button?  When was the last time you gave yourself permission to truly and completely rest?

The end of the year is a tricky time.  The pace and pressure pick up in a race to the finish before school breaks, holiday vacations, or end of year deadlines.  The frenetic energy to shop, bake, clean, decorate, and stay cheery through it all is like oil and water with the mix of sadness, loneliness, and heartbreak that so many are experiencing at this time of year.

"Everyone is busy.  They have lives.  The world around me keeps moving as if nothing changed."

Some variation of this comes up nearly every time I speak with someone experiencing grief, loss, or another traumatic life disruption.  

A sensation that they are stuck in a moment in time...a moment of anguish, pain, or trauma...while the world moves on without them.

The feeling that nothing else matters anymore, or at least the importance of everything has drastically realigned, and yet everybody and everything else hasn't realized it.

Those in grief need a moment to catch their breath, to feel their loss, to grieve and to mourn and to set aside "to-do's" that just don't feel so meaningful anymore.

Sometimes, even if the world around you keeps moving, you also need a way to locate and push a pause button.

...A pause on expectations of yourself or others
...A chance to rest, recover, grieve, and be - just as you are
...A moment to celebrate before the next challenge

Often, when what you are doing is of utmost importance, with others relying on you for your care, leadership, example, or action, it's even more difficult to give yourself permission to pause.  How do you take a break when you know there are people out there struggling, suffering, and dying? 

How do you rest when you know that resting is itself a privilege and luxury that not everyone has safe spaces to do?  How do you take a moment to breathe when you know your own continued breath depends on change in the world around you?

Just like a silence between notes is part of the music, your pauses are necessary parts of your action.

Knowing the role and importance of the pause is essential for the progress and action that moves the needle.

If you are always running, you will never get the full view of where you started, how far you've come, or the best paths to get where you're trying to go (and do so the most efficiently and effectively).

Here's the key - the pause is not an interruption. It is an integral part of the process...and progress.

The clock and the calendar keep moving.  It's how you use your own intentional breath between movements that energize and empower your next action.

You matter.  You can make a difference.  I'm so thankful you're here.