Facing the new and unknown – rest first!

I migrated to Canada on Monday. For the first time in my life, I purchased a one-way ticket. This is a huge step, for not only have I moved, my teenagers have also moved with me. It is a big step for my entire family – including my dogs who will be joining us soon! The past few weeks have been full of the emotions of parting – joy to be embarking on new beginnings and sadness to leave the familiar and beloved. Parting from my church community, my running group, my plants, my doggies and of course my beloved sister and her family were especially hard.

On Tuesday morning, I awoke feeling as if I were the Titanic after hitting the iceberg. Weeks of clearing out, sorting, moving, disposing of and packing were over. Now I was to start the process of settling in to our new life in our new country. Typically me, I decided to hit the ground running, so I had a long list of things to do for early Tuesday morning. I forced myself to get up and about despite boulders in my shoulders, blocks in my back and ropes in my neck. I felt more than tired – I had no words for this feeling. Yet, I pushed on.

Yesterday, Wednesday, I also had a long list of things to do. As I pondered the list with trepidation, it finally came to me that I didn’t HAVE to do all of this right now. So, I decided to stop and rest. I realized that I was feeling more than just discomfort from physical movement – my body was manifesting the emotions of leaving, of moving into the unknown and unfamiliar. I took care of myself yesterday, slowing down and doing the minimum. And I feel much, much better this morning.

It is a reminder to go with the flow of action, rest and recovery. It is also a reminder to consciously schedule in the rest and recovery and not wait until my body is screaming “STOP! REST!”. In retrospect, on Tuesday I should have stayed in bed late, gone for a massage and practiced my yoga restorative postures or gone for a run. Wisdom in hindsight! But it is never too late to stop, rest and recover.

Whatever you are doing today, take care of yourself. Schedule in some rest and recovery time – even a few minutes of quiet breathing. It will help you to face the new and the unknown, which is what every moment brings, whether you are moving to Canada or simply going to work or the supermarket.