I’m being reminded lately that I am a soul living in a human body. And what this means is that in order to continue growing and evolving spiritually, I have to remember to keep this machine running smoothly.

Are you the type of person who listens to your body right away when it sends warning signs – when it lets you know that it needs some tlc? Or do you continue to push until your body eventually breaks?

I definitely tend to push. Our bodies have amazing ways of sending us warning signals to stop – rest – replenish. They are very patient and at first whisper – suggest – ask. My default setting throughout my life has been to ignore these nudges – “I have too much to do,” I tell it. “How on earth will everything get done if I take time to rest? How will everything not all fall apart?” And so the nudging comes back a bit stronger – maybe in the form of a cold or feeling so tired that I have to drag myself out of bed. And still I push on – I take a few extra vitamins, drink extra water, and continue pushing. And when it realizes that I’m not going to listen, my body breaks, and my only choice is to rest. In the past, the breaking point has happened in the form of heart surgery, several bouts of pneumonia, a car accident, mono, and now a rib injury.

And what’s funny (but not really) is that even after seeing the doctor and hearing that I tore the cartilage – even after him telling me that I needed to rest for six weeks – even after listening to the gruesome details of how it’s just “hanging out – detached” and very fragile – even after learning that if I don’t rest I will greatly extend the time it will take it to heal… even after all of this – I didn’t listen. I tried to continue to work. I tried to push through. I am strong, I told myself. I can do it.

And it was only when the pain became too much to handle, when the fever started to kick in really warning me that I was acting like a crazy person that I realized that a strong person, centered in self care and self love, would go to the couch with an ice pack and a blanket and some great chick flicks. A strong person would take care of her body because she knows that she is going to need it to stay healthy for many more years. A strong person would look at the list of orders in the queue and know that there is no such thing as a journal emergency – she would know that it will all work out and everything will eventually get done and be shipped out. A strong person would cut herself a whole lot of slack. She would wrap her arms tightly around herself and say that it is going to be okay.

And then I took it one step further and realized that a super strong person would look for the opportunities that are offered because of this injury. She would realize that slowing down allows her body to finally rest, which it has so desperately needed for so very long. She would realize that she finally has been given the gift of time. She can now write her book – the book that she has been putting off with the excuse that there simply isn’t time – it’s just not possible. She would realize that it’s okay to take care of herself before the breaking point. She would understand that she is more important than anything else – and recognize that she could help so many more people if she were healthy herself.

This is what I have realized. So I am resting, which is why I haven’t posted every day. I am resting – not all of the time, but most of the time. I am learning that these breaks are preventable. There are no coincidences in life, and I know that learning to take care of myself, listen to my body, and actually do what it is asking of me are wonderfully powerful lessons.

Are you listening to your body? What does it want you to know? Are you also pushing too hard? Are you making sure to take time to take care of yourself? Are you resting when you need to rest? Eating when you need to eat? Laughing when you need to laugh? There truly is no reason why we need to wait for the breaking point – let’s put ourselves first long before that happens. We definitely deserve it.