Like a lot of women right now, I am rage cleaning
I don’t vacuum often but when I do, I go all out.
I mean, I am in the back of the closet sucking up things that were so deep, they themselves didn’t even know where they were.
Cleaning deep made me notice something important.
A lost sock suddenly got caught in the long attachment that is round and made to reach far and get into smaller places.
The power to the vacuum was around the corner, outside of my immediate reach so instead of shutting it off to stop the sock from getting sucked in and therefore stopping up the vacuum, I just pulled the sock as quickly as I could, hoping to yank it out of the suction, before it went deeper.
An interesting thing happened though (hello PHYSICS!)…
I didn’t get a good enough hold on the sock and by trying to do that quick yank I slimmed it out and made it even easier for the vacuum tube to suck it up.
Then, after my own dramatic scream yelp, I heard the vacuum cleaner groan and clog.
It made me think: When we are “pulled in every direction” or “spread too thin” we get sucked into things too.
Things we don’t want to be sucked into. Things that just suck, period.
So here is the full thought: If you are getting pulled hard, in a direction that you feel all bunched up trying to protect yourself from…Shut it OFF.
Take some time and release yourself peacefully from the situation.
Then you can see what you most need.
Self-care is about what you need, moment to moment.
I heard this from my brilliant friend Renee Trudeau
in her Ecstatic Dance Class this morning.
All new habits take a bit of practice but it is basically about noticing how you can gently support yourself throughout your days.
Checking in with yourself about how you feel.
Checking in with how you are speaking to yourself.
Checking in with yourself about how others are speaking to you.
When we function from a place that prioritizes self-care we don’t always have to be in self-defense.
We don’t get that sudden anger then exhaustion that confirms: I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING ALL MYSELF!
We are already doing thoughtful things for ourselves so we aren’t drained and can see something is pulling on us – pulling us in a direction we don’t want to go…towards the clogged up self…
If you are getting sucked into things that are not right for your system, right now…
Shut it off.
PERIOD.
You have a WAY bigger life to live.
The one where you choose the direction you want to go.
And you can only do this when you aren’t sucked up by all of the forces that suck.