The word “depletion” comes from a Latin word meaning "blood-letting" or “to empty”. This rings true for me. When I am physically, mentally or emotionally depleted, I feel as if my vitality has been drained from my entire being.
Feeling depleted, at times, is a part of life but it shouldn’t become a way of life. In a society that celebrates working hard, sucking it up, and pressing on, how do we give ourselves permission to stop, rest and renew our body, mind and spirit? How do we come back home to ourselves?
First, we have to stop. I mean, really stop. Like drop everything you are doing kind of stop. Stop and breathe. Deeply. Tune into your body. Listen. Because the body never lies, it will tell you what it needs.
Does it need relaxation, motion, inspiration?
Does it need a hug, a pat on the back, a high five?
If we don’t listen, the body will eventually speak to us through its language of symptoms. We can ignore these discomforts or push them aside or we can tend to them like we would a loved one in need of tender care.
In this hurry-up-world, slowing down and listening to the body isn’t always easy but it is immensely vital to our overall wellbeing and living a good life.
We are so much more than our talking heads would like us to believe. We are body, mind and soul. And without the body, the other two have no place to call home.
An invitation: Take a moment several times a day to stop, breathe and listen. Ask yourself: What one thing can I do right now to attend to the tender being of my body? How can I come home to myself in this moment?
The body never lies. It will speak truth always. It is our sacred gift to listen and honor what emerges.