Gimme a Break

More than a tiny gasp of shock and horror escaped me when I saw the date of my last posting. And though this should, in all reality, not come as a shock to me anymore, it always seems to hit me with a tidal wave of guilt and then a smaller wave of absolute amazement at how quickly time passes. Ironically, I seem to spend inordinate amounts of time lamenting the loss of time. 

I know well by now that even with my best intentions laid out for the week ahead of me, blogging generally falls to the bottom of the list and gets a bit lost in the shuffle of things that seem more important and actually pay my bills. I also know that, as a non-bill-paying part of my day, I can "afford" to let it slip through the cracks as a frivolity. 

After all, this gig doesn't net me anything beyond a few minutes with my own free-flow of creativity, right? But who's to say that isn't just as valuable? No, it may not be bankable, but sometimes the ROI (return of investment) of taking a few minutes to focus on something that makes you feel a little more in tune with yourself, with what makes you tick and what makes you happy––a little bit of a vacation for your brain––is worth it.

Heck, there are even scientific studies to back it up. Taking a break for your frazzled brain's sake is a good thing, not something to feel guilty about. Taking a break isn't an indulgence––it's a necessity. And it's one that I seem to have forgotten how to do lately. I'm allowing deadlines to dictate far too much of my day, and I often feel like the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. Though I may not always have the clearest picture of just what very important date I'm late for, I'm late! Late, late, late! Or maybe I'm about to be? The sound of a clock ticks loudly in my subconscious, a constant warning of...something. 

Obviously, I'm not the only one who feels this way, so driven as a culture are we by our schedules. We run ourselves ragged with work and unnecessary commitments, busy, busy, busy. But we have 581 "friends" on Facebook, and everyone knows what we had for breakfast because we send out Tweets with the speed and frequency of an eye-blink.

But really, no one knows you...and not even you know you, because you're too busy to find out. Who are you? What makes you happy? What makes you feel relaxed and fulfilled? Take a break––let your mind wander. Make the next peek at the calendar a little less-gasp inducing.