Exhausted

Have you ever woke up at 3 am completely awake, not exactly sure why, and yet your mind and even your body says, "hey, get out of bed. It's time." Begrudgingly I said, ok, because I've given up getting angry about this odd little ritual of mine that happens from time to time when my mind and spirit are conflicting, there's decisions to be made and I don't have all the answers. Well, that was last night.

Our sweet little dog, Sunny, who's as old as the hills, woke up and scratched ever so slightly on our bedroom door. She likes to come into our bedroom at odd hours of the night if something wakes her up, having zero awareness that she is waking up someone else to allow her to feel safe again with the rest of her pack. So, I'm up now, letting her into our bedroom and my body decides it's time to get up. If I never looked at a clock, I think I would be alot happier. When I saw 3:11 am, I thought to myself, damn, that's early girl. For a moment I heard the voice saying, "you need to go back to sleep, you're going to be exhausted tomorrow, go back to sleep." I considered this rational side of me, and decided to give it a try. I suck at this part. Crawling back in bed, slowly getting comfortable as to not wake up my darling spouse who's off in dream land, I find it very challenging to join him in his slumber. I try. I rest, I pray, but it's all to no avail if my mind and body say it's time to get vertical. So, I'm up and at um at 3:30 in the morning.

The rebel in me says, "who cares! make yourself a cup of matcha, catch up on some reading and enjoy the quiet" So that is what I did.

At around 5:30 am, I'm feeling tired, so I laid down on the couch and slept for an hour and a half. I can't help it, 7 am is sleeping in for me. I felt a little behind this morning, but refused to look at the clock on the wall. I knew what time it was and decided to ignore it completely. There's no sense looking at the time if it is only going to cause some sort of bad feeling. Today has been a beautiful day, but I'm not exhausted. The only time I've ever felt exhausted is because of overwhelm in my life. I work hard. I mean physically and mentally hard and I love it. Neither of those things bring on exhaustion for me. Overwhelm does. Worry does. Fear does.

Do you ever think that the reason we are so exhausted is because of our relationship with time and what we're doing with our time?

Here are three ways to focus on the moment instead of getting wrapped up in the arms of the clock.

1. Take three deep breaths and let them out slowly. Not one, not two, but three. Everything changes after the third one.

2. Acknowledge how you feel, and remember, feelings don't last unless there's an underlying reason.

3. Get outside. It is scientifically proven over and over that humans need nature... and nature needs us to take care of it. Go outside, find a tree, sit with it. Become aware of what you see, hear, and smell.

   There you have it... A quick and easy guide to getting into the moment. Being mindful of your own habits and ways of thinking is the first step to rock solid emotional intelligence. Every human being can become exhausted by their own thoughts. Get out of your head and into your body. It makes all the difference.