The Importance of Just "Being" (and why I'm taking a break from blogging)

By Barbara @ Follow Your Own Rhythm

It's been a few months since I've published a blog or created any new content, so today I wanted to share why. 

I've sort of taken a step back from DOING...and entered a space of BEING.  

I realized a few months ago that all I've been doing for the past few years is working (at my full time job), and then working on my online business and blogging in my free time, with very little time for myself, the ones I love, or for spontaneous activity. 

As much as I love running my online business, I realized that my heart ached for more time to just be.

I felt this deep intuitive feeling that I need to slow down.  I need to be more present.  I need to stop being so busy.  I need to go within and self-reflect. I need to focus on my own growth and inner healing...

That I just need to take a break from all of my self-created responsibilities (one major responsibility being my website and blog) and let myself be spontaneous for a little while.  

I've always incorporated these self-care practices into my life, but this time I felt I needed to go FULL FORCE WITH IT. 

This thought of taking a break from Follow Your Own Rhythm has never crossed my mind, it's my passion, purpose, and my baby after all, but it wasn't until recently that I realized how stuck I felt, and how burned out I was. 

As much as I not only love, but feel called to spread this spiritual message and guide people on their own awakening and healing journey, I realized that I HAD NO BALANCE in my life, and that I've prioritized almost all my free time to work on my online business. 

Don't get me wrong, it's important to sacrifice your free time for your goals, dreams, and bigger purpose, something I point out in my How to Turn Your Passion Into a Business training, but it's just as equally vital to recognize when you've fallen out of balance and need to take a break to nurture your own needs.

So I felt this strong desire to slow down, become more in tune with my True self, be more present, and take in and observe life, other people, and my surroundings more.  I felt the need to stop doing so much and just flow with life.  I felt like I needed to reconnect with myself, and spend more time engaging in unstructured and unplanned activities. 

So I surrendered.  I let go of the fear that says "you can't take this break; everything's gonna fall apart." 

I let it all go, and I simply trusted that there is a reason I feel this way, and that if I listen to it, it will take me where I need to go, no matter what "falls apart" on the outside.  Sometimes things NEED to fall apart so that we can rebuild them to align more with who we are. 

I remembered that the point of my journey is to first and foremost connect to and express my Truest, Whole, and Divine self, so that I can be my Highest version for everyone else. 

I believe we go through waves in life, one month or one year we're full of energy and all we want to do is create, accomplish, achieve, manifest, and just DO, whereas another month or year we're feeling more calm and all we want to do is relax, slow down, reflect, meditate, study, learn, observe, introspect, and just be. 

I am a big advocate for tuning into these cycles that we go through and listening to these energies because they communicate to us what we MOST NEED RIGHT NOW.

We can't be busy all the time. We can't be in creation mode all the time.  Sometimes we just have to not do anything.  

I'm not saying to neglect our responsibilities, but we need to recognize when too much is too much, take a step back, and prioritize BEING. 

It is in that space of "being" that we grow and evolve, which in turn helps us be more effective in accomplishing our goals and serving our purpose.

Just last night I looked out the window and noticed that it was snowing here in Colorado. IN MAY. 

But it was so peaceful...it was so still outside...and it was so beautiful. 

So I sat in the open window, watching the snow fall, taking it all in, and just letting myself be with that moment.  I wasn't rushing off to complete some task or get back to what I was doing, I just let the moment take me where I want to be.  And at that moment, for 20 minutes, that's where I wanted to be.  In the window, admiring the beauty, and taking it all in.

And for the past few months, I've been tuning into these subtle and slower energies of life and just allowing myself to be there fully without any guilt, worry, or thought that I should be doing something else.  And I can't tell you how much I'm learning, and how good it feels to slow down. 

My intention is to ride this wave until I feel it's served its purpose, and then of course continue to incorporate more "beingness" into all my "doing" as I move into the next phase of my life where I will get back to regular blogging and teaching. 

I can't tell you how good it feels to just COMPLETELY let go and surrender and go with the flow, to trust and follow my intuition, to feel so spiritually connected, and to be able to trust that Life is on my side.  

I know we all know the importance of slowing down, living in the moment, letting go, and following our hearts, but not many of us actually ALLOW ourselves to live by these principles. 

So I encourage you, the next time you have this deep inner urge to just take a step back and be more present, to listen to it, follow it, and experience the magic of just being. 

xx,

Barbie

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Do you ever feel this urge to just be? Do you listen to it? Share your experience in the comments below!

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