Lessons in Learning How to Rest, Part Two.

Lesson 2: Trim the Fat

For the longest time I've been a champ at balancing my crazy life.

Crazy that I brought on myself, but let's not argue semantics!

That is until recently, when I decided to take a break from my life. And since then it's all boiled down to just the numbers. Kind of like taking stock of everything that defines who you are. Or in my case, why I haven't slowed down long enough to catch my breath. It started with all the things I had accomplished or put up with in the last 10 years and now it's come down to the details. The mundane stuff that just seemed to add up all on its own:

516 friends on Facebook
373 people in my address book
600 text messages per month
500 minutes worth of phone calls
42 people to follow on Twitter
49 people following me on Twitter
At least 35 emails per day


I've inadvertently started to master lesson number two while trying to learn lesson number one. And while I still suck at slowing down, I am rocking the trimming of the fat! I've literally been in awe of myself. My personality is almost unrecognizable. I not only stay in every night, I've stopped returning phone calls. I avoid people at all costs. I've become a cave person!

Or maybe my inner-country girl has finally emerged?

It's weird. I've had a few friends who on occasion would lock themselves in their houses and take a break from everything-all at once. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. Why in the world would you want to stop going with the flow of a seemingly fabulous life?! And now I get it. While my life is still pretty great (I had a massage at my new office last week), I not only need to slow down, but stop all together. And putting everything on hold has felt so great. I've never been this relaxed. I've not been this rested since kindergarten. I eat better. I breathe deeper. Life is good. And I have to attribute all this euphoria to the trimming of the fat. The cutting out of the white noise, slipping into my favorite yoga pants, sipping a glass of wine and just enjoying the sunset on The Lake.

I honestly don't know why it took me this long to get here.