Unstitch

Fatigue is often associated with a lack of sleep, poor nutrition, and overexertion. But is that really the whole story? I've noticed on days where I feel particularly tired, there is also a tape loop running in my head of worry, planning, anticipating and trying to control the future. I tend to be harder on myself, less forgiving, more serious. This consumes a lot of vital energy.

But what about when you are bone tired, and then love shows up at your door or you get some exciting news. Or you start the first day of a vacation. Have you noticed how quickly those depleted places come back to life? You are radiant again. One of my favorite books, The Untethered Soul, explains that we have unlimited energy available to us all the time, if we choose to keep the channels open. Much of the time, we end up blocking the flow of energy with anxiety, worry, self-judgment, the need for perfection or certainty -- mental states that contract and tighten the mind and body.

Sometimes the remedy to fatigue is to simply loosen at the seams. Like the petals of a flower, let yourself soften and fall to the ground. Lay down the need for certainty or perfection. Give yourself permission to unstitch for a while. When you surrender your need for control, you open yourself back up to gratitude, the grand lubricant of life. The heart opens wider, and joy finds its way back in. "I don't need to know all the answers" can be just as restorative as sleep and rest.