My nose started bleeding today. It was a completely random event. I hadn’t had a nose bleed since I was a kid, and nothing externally had changed for me to have one now (the weather was the same, I don’t have allergies, I hadn’t knocked into anything, etc.). And yet, bright red blood was pouring out of it.

And here’s the part that I’m not entirely proud of saying, but I promised I would continue to show up here in-process and completely human, so here goes: I was more inconvenienced by the nose bleed than concerned about it. I was more worried about how long it was going to take to stop. I wondered if I would still be able to record the videos that needed to be recorded and be a part of my Skype session later in the day. I just simply didn’t have time for this deviation from the schedule.

Wow.

If it had been Dan’s nose that was bleeding, I immediately would have stopped whatever I was doing to help him – to show him that I cared and that I was concerned. To be there for him. Had it been my dog’s nose or my cats’ noses, I would have immediately jumped into “Mama mode” and fixed it. I would have shown love and care for them and tried to make it better. I wouldn’t have even thought about the time that it was taking or how it was “setting me back” with everything that I had to do.

So why couldn’t I do this for myself? Why was my first inclination one of inconvenience rather than one of self love and concern? 

It may sound a bit silly, but I truly feel like this nose bleed was a wake-up call for me. I believe that the universe is constantly sending us messages, and it’s up to us to listen and act on these messages. For quite awhile now, I’ve been receiving subtle signs from the universe that I needed to slow down, be kinder to myself, not push so hard, relax, take it easy… and I have ignored them.

“There’s just too much to do.
I don’t have time to slow down.
How will everything get done?
Who will do it if I don’t?
I’ll just be further behind if I don’t keep at it.
If I take a day off, I’ll just be more stressed and have more to do when I come back to work.”

Etc., etc. And so I keep going. And I keep pushing. 

And then something like this nose bleed happens that is too noticeable to ignore. When Dan asked what I thought the message was, I immediately said that the universe (my soul, higher power, God) was asking me to STOP. Not to get too gory, but the blood was bright red – the same color as a stop sign. And I literally had to stop and put pressure on it to get the blood to stop flowing out.

So Dan asked if it would be possible for me to stop.

And immediately I started rattling off some of the same excuses from above saying that it just wasn’t possible. I just had too much to do.

But something happened in that moment – the moment right after I got all of the excuses out of my system.

In that space, I heard how ridiculous this sounded. In that space, I remembered ME. In that space, I remembered how much I matter. In that space, I stepped out of myself for a moment and looked at myself as a friend – as someone that I loved and cared for. And in doing so, I knew that it would be okay for me to listen to this vivid message – it would be okay for me to stop (even for a little while).

And so, I left my to-do list in my office. I walked away from the computer with all of the emails and messages to respond to. I left all of my work behind. And I crawled into bed. And I slept. For hours. And it felt great.

My message used to be that I needed to slow down. And because I didn’t, my message is now that I need to stop. Completely. For a little while every day. 

Take naps. Meditate. Do nothing.

Every day.

This has been a huge wake-up call for me – the need to stop, the message that came so clearly, and also my default setting of treating myself poorly when anything gets in the way of my work. And it’s time for me to shift this. It’s time for me to remember that I come first – not work. Things have been out of balance for so long, and it’s time to start bringing them back into alignment.

It’s time to stop ignoring my own needs. Stop pushing so hard. Stop running myself ragged. Stop doing it all. Stop. Stop. Stop. 

It’s so important. I can feel it. And this time I promise to pay attention.

If you’re also feeling this need to stop – both the busyness in your life and also the lack of self love – I invite you to join me. Let’s find quiet moments in our day to remove ourselves from the craziness and the busyness and the chaos and the have tos and the piles and piles of responsibilities that we face. Let’s find ways to show up for ourselves with love and compassion. And let’s stop anything that takes us away from living the life we know we’re so deserving of.

Let’s not just slow down. Let’s love ourselves enough to stop completely. It’s essential. 

Are you with me?

I would love for you to help spread the love by sharing this post on Facebook and Twitter.

Hugs,

P.S. – The FINAL group session begins on Monday for the Coming Back to Life Ecourse!

Many of you have already signed up, and I’m so excited to begin this journey together of embracing our lives!  I would love for you to join us, too! This is the absolute last time that it will be offered with the live chats and interactive Facebook community.

Did you know that there’s a payment plan available? You can make one payment now and then another in a month! You’ll be registered immediately and will receive all of the bonus gifts right away. Many of you asked for this option, and I’m so happy to offer it to you! Click here to join us!