Power Outage = Self Care Break

The story: Husband and wife, driving in separate vehicles, having been arguing, ended up hitting an electric pole knocking out power on my side of town. The woman was trying to ram his car when she hit the pole. She was arrested for a domestic.

The irony: My domestic violence Zoom group was canceled due to a power outage, caused by the couple who were in a vehicle fight a few blocks away.

The results: Group members choose to make up the missed class by joining the next evening’s group. When I tell them why the power was out, I am sure they will not be surprised.

For me: Who knew I needed an extra evening free from work? With the power off and my computer dead, shutting off the violin lesson I had just opened, I decided to cancel my group and light some candles. I had a bounty of brilliance flickering away on my coffee table. Breathing in and out, I am grateful for an extra break in my daily work.

As the evening wore on, I thought back to my experience earlier. I was thankful for candles, time alone, and my dogs.

. . .

When the lights returned, I gently blew out at least six candles, leaving the remaining four lit. My house smells like a candle factory; all the scents mingling into a cascade of floral and woodsy tones.

My dogs snoring away and my legs up on the footstool, I envelope my moment into a blissful quiet time. No rushing, guiding, talking. Only the soft breaths from my dogs, and the subtle sounds of traffic outside my home. Inside, the quiet buzz from the fridge and the tick, tick, tick of water in the pipes reminds me of the blessings of electricity: my heater is back on.

What causes us to rush from moment to moment, not relishing the day?

Our time is smushed together until we have no time left for breathing. I’ve realized life is too short for the interruptions of the daily buzz. I refuse to fall back into the victimhood of chronic work. I need breaks, and today, I feel grateful for the chance to take advantage of the time.

What would you do with your time? A great question.

If you were given a day off, what would it look like? Would you fill it with all the extra things you forgot to do? Like laundry, dishes, cooking big meals, or dusting, vacuuming, and the rest of the house-hold chores?

Resting is as essential as working.

We fall short when we let setbacks become stumbling blocks. A gift of a couple hour break, or a day off can be used for so much more than trying to get more done. Rest yourself. Breathe. Find something of a blessing in the time off. For me, the time I spent enjoying the candles was peaceful.

Once the lights came on, I was sure to charge my laptop and phones. Writing can happen by candlelight, which wasn’t so difficult. Instead, I observed the lights dance on the walls rather than push pen to paper to get more words out in my short break.

Thriving in life is a balance between accomplishing what needs to be done, and making time to enjoy the moments we have in between. Tony Robbins calls the moments N.E.T. (No Extra Time). N.E.T. means to take the extra time you have and use it wisely. For instance, can you exercise and listen to growth lessons, or maybe even use waiting in the lines to jot notes.

Since I have access to different lectures, I have been spending my time implementing what I learn into valuable tools for personal development. I’ve become the master of my time lately, and I love every moment.

My time spent with candles and my feet up were just as important as running a domestic violence group. Why? Because I put 150% of me into my work and when I put my feet up, I am still learning, engaged, and planning for the next group. The reason? I’m constantly seeking to improve myself. I cannot ask others to work on themselves if I, myself, refuse to grow. Every opportunity I can take to move my needle closer to success improves the outcome.

Candles lit my soul up by helping me renew my commitment to self-care. Tomorrow, well, I’ll face my extra-large group and let them know how we came to have a night off. Until then, I’m going to rejuvenate my mind by sleeping.

~Just a thought by Pamela

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This post was previously published on The Bad Influence.

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