I Took a 'Slow Down' Day Rather Than Falling To Pieces.......
*** First thing before you start to read this, I beg you, I borrow you, please…oh…please,you might be tempted to hit the play button to listen to my voice reading these words to you….I am an ok writer but I think my voice helps to deliver my thoughts in better structure…..I hope you might enjoy this mini podcast while you go for a walk, a stroll, maybe you might be eating your lunch, or you might lie down on your bed….There are extra special bits in my voice recordings and I promise this week, we finish with a special slow down element just for YOU xx
On Saturday last, I made the decision that I was going to follow my body….follow my feelings… follow my mind and take a ‘Slow Down Lou’ Day……This is something I came up with over the last year or so, that when I feel ‘really tired’ inside myself that I give myself permission to intently ‘slow down’. I don’t set my alarm. I don’t plan the day. I don’t even engage my brain too much in what my next step is as I make my way through my next step. Instead I wake up and if I want to go back to sleep, that is exactly what I do. If I want to just lie there and ponder my thoughts, that’s what I do too…I intently slow down…No rush…No race…No clock watching….I intently pick a weekend day to do my slow down day so then I don’t have any bad feelings of not chasing up an email or a call on that day…Instead my brain can be fully free of all those ‘The things I should be doing?’ thoughts…It’s a mindset shift and I intently make it and take it as I know without doing this, I’m not giving my brain a chance to recharge, not properly anyways and I cannot expect it to think clearly if it’s tired inside..…Yes, as we know sleep is a great recharger of the brain but I’m a big believer we need to follow how we feel too and when we feel tired, our brains are feeling tired also and so in that thought, ‘SLOW DOWN LOU’ days were born…..
These days are not days I have too often but when I feel I need one, I take it….And the reason for that is that I know myself well…I have a personality type that will push through the tiredness - and when I use the word ‘tiredness’, i’m relating to not just physically tiredness but a tiredness that builds up inside us where maybe our brain has been pushed a lot of late to think and figure things out….And is indeed in need of a break, a holiday, a retreat from functioning deeply on rational thinking and problem solving processes….
I love my brain and I never want to hurt it or over extend it by simply not giving it a day off….I’ve learned over the years the hard way about things and sadly I’ve seen people suffer under not taking care of their brain and mind too and seen where it can lead. The brain is a magical part of being human and I think too often we might take it for granted. Myself included, that’s why I came up with my ‘Slow Down’ days. I needed someway I could recognise that I needed to mind my brain and recognise that I can’t always expect it to be able to push pass my limit and then think that it can come up with all the answers I want it to come up with. I have to give my brain a chance to breathe. A chance to slow down. A chance to not be under pressure. And as we all know, this world loves to keep us under pressure…but we must remember this world is not driving the car…. is not driving the brain….it’s us in the drivers seat and at any stage we can turn on the indicator and pull in…And so that’s exactly what my ‘SLOW DOWN’ days are all about…I’m turning on the indicator in my mind and i’m turning into the parking spot…not for long, but just long enough to give myself that much needed break…..And in turn I’m recognising that by doing that, I am relinquishing the pressure I was putting on myself and therefore I give my brain that well deserved break & consequently I bring forward the best of myself after that break…..See the brain is such an amazing feature of being human and I never want to take it for granted.
As defined by The Mayfield Clinic the brain is: “an amazing three-pound organ that controls all functions of the body, interprets information from the outside world, and embodies the essence of the mind and soul. Intelligence, creativity, emotion, and memory are a few of the many things governed by the brain. Protected within the skull, the brain is composed of the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem.
The brain receives information through our five senses: sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing - often many at one time. It assembles the messages in a way that has meaning for us, and can store that information in our memory. The brain controls our thoughts, memory and speech, movement of the arms and legs, and the function of many organs within our body.”
Not forgetting also the brain figures out problems and helps us make decisions. It also works alongside our feelings to help us decide how we are going to react to a certain situation or a person. And this is precisely where my love of the brain sits. For any of the Facebook family listening in, you will regularly hear me speak about the magical power of the brain and the heart… The mind and the spirit and how they so amazingly work together…. and on other days they have to separate but the power of both lies in the strength of each part working well together…And for our brains and our feelings to align we need to take care of ourselves. It is our responsibility to ‘us’ to mind ‘us’ if that makes sense….So when I took my ‘Slow Day’ on Saturday I was proud of myself because it’s a sign i’m learning more and more about myself but not only that, I’m actually implementing the ideas I speak of in my own life. I know the Facebook family area well used to me sharing many of my ideas of how we can mind ourselves better and in turn mind each other better and how I truly believe even though lots of heavy things have happened in my life over the last eight years, I’ve been blessed with the insight to look at myself, look inside myself and to work through parts of me, that I need working through.
I believe we are all in a constant stage of change and improvement and I will never know myself for ever fibre of my being but no matter what happens me going forward I am always going to try lean in. And yes sometimes those moments of leaning in are not easy. They bring up uncomfortable feelings something but overall the only person who is going to keep me looking up is ME. It’s over to me to mind me and I want to always be able to help others too. I know we live in a world where often it can be said that you must look after yourself before others. And I understand where that is coming from. The irish phrase, ‘you can’t pour from an empty cup’ comes to mind….I don’t know why it’s a cup and not a tea pot but onwards we go with the analogy because I totally agree with it. We must keep ourselves topped up when it comes to our mental and physical health and all the other health options when it comes to be able to help others too. I do think also it’s very important though that we never lean in too much that the other becomes the ‘second fiddle’ (another Irish reference). What I mean here is I know quite a few people who put themselves first at all costs…It doesn’t matter what they speak of, I hear them repeating the same angle all the time in different tones, and that is ‘I must look after me’. And yes I understand the idea of where they are coming from but we must find the balance between ‘I’ and the ‘other’. Life is about reaching a balance. Life is not just about me. Life is not just about you. Life is about us…we are here to enjoy this world, this journey, together, not alone….Yes it’s really hard to land there. It’s really hard to achieve it - the balance bit….but we must at least aim for it. The same way as the brain and heart must try and meet in the middle. If you use too much of your brain, your feelings will get suppressed and decisions will be made through rational thought. And the same goes for the heart. If you lean too heavily on emotions and feelings, you will make decisions from a place of how you feel which needs the balance of rational thought to land in the right spot? I know I’ve failed on both ends many times and all I can do going forward is to try to do better….and I think that’s where my strategies of living a better life are beginning to pay off. Since Gran died I have never felt so relaxed in myself. I still make mistakes, I still get cranky, I still make the wrong calls, I still am imperfect but I now like that version of me…Because for the first time in my life, I never give up on improving me. I love figuring out things, I want to better myself, I want to try and figure out life all the time even when I’m fed up with it. I have found a peace inside myself that I hope remains for my life journey……I know I’m digging deep on this idea of middle ground and balance but I truly believe it is the way forward. I also believe being open to thinking about yourself and learning from others is hugely important too. So many people do not think about their brain. Do not think about their heart. Do not think about how us humans work? And even though failing and heavy crosses are part of life, I do think in life I’m learning just in a tiny way to fail better and also to get back up with a bit more resilience.
Can you see where I’m going here? So in me taking my slow day, that allowed my brain to take a breather. It gave my brain a chance to sit in the back seat of my car so to speak. I have learned that I need that break. I have learned that if I do not do that, my heart will take over and I will feel the wrong feelings in the wrong situation. I most likely will make the wrong decisions and may even say the wrong things to people who do not deserve those things to be said or just they might be out of place….On Saturday evening after spending the day wandering the shops, stopping off for a delicious meal in a favourite restaurant of mine, I then went to a concert of a friend. She is a wonderful singer and songwriter and I know her for many years. Her name is Eimear Crehan and I will link a song her further down. I would highly recommend you take a listen to her songs as they strike the perfect balance between the head and the heart…..And it was in this moment as I sat in the church where her concert was being held, I knew my heart was stepping out in front to take control of my life in that moment. It filled with hope, light and enthusiasm for life once again while my brain sat back and nodded and smiled. I need to give my brain a break and my heart was ready to step forward and take control. And that is exactly what happened. My heart filled like a child splashing into the swimming pool on holidays and my brain took a deck chair under an umbrella in the shade watching on. I needed a break and I knew it. The most important part of this story is that I listened to my brain and I let my heart take control. I’m proud of myself because even though it is easy to come up with ideas of how to cope with life, often it’s not as easy to implement them but this year I have definitely found my groove on that end. And long may it last.
So if your brain is tired, maybe you too need a ‘Slow Down’ day….I promise you, if you take it, no feeling bad about it, just do it… I promise you, you will feel the better of it the minute you do it….What I love most about it, is the energy you gain from it, slowly releasing back into you….so just like turning on that indicator, sometimes it takes us a little bit of time to find the parking space and equally when you go to move out of the parking space, sometimes we need to wait awhile while the traffic moves along and then comes that nice gap to pull back out….And then, only then, do you realise and appreciate the parking spaces as you pass them…and then you also know that at anytime you can pull in again….but probably because you took that little break, you won’t need to for another good while. Give that brain a break. Give that heart of yours a lift. And spread the word about ‘Slow Down’ Days…Only we can recognise we need them and only us can take them. But I promise you, it will refresh, reframe and reset your brain in ways no amount of pushing forward or through would ever achieve.
I’m going to finish this substack on the song of the beautiful Eimear. I’ve asked Eimear is it ok to use her music so going forward & she is all on board so you are going to hear more of her in my substack. I believe in promoting talent and particularly gifts in the creative field. So I’d love if you’re walking to continue walking as you listen to this. But if you’re sitting or lying down I ask you to close your eyes for the next three minute. I want you to listen for your heart beating in your chest. I want you to think of your brain lying on that deck chair. I want you to feel your lungs relaxing and your breathe slowing down. This is your three minutes to slow down with me …and Eimear. I’m picking ‘Pieces’ as my song choice this week…. The lyrics that hit me “Broken glass is hard to walk on. I’m tired of tiptoeing around...I’m the judge, I’m the jury, I’m the one with something to prove. I just keep losing myself trying to be somebody else. Picking up the pieces isn’t easy when they are scattered so far. I try to change my way. Trying to make to make these feelings go away. I’m fighting with myself to try and stop the louder voice winning again.”
Enjoy and don’t forget I think the world of ye all and no matter what turns up this week for you, you can face it, you can handle it and you will work your way through it, I promise. Thanks for reading my letter every week and I really really hope you might be listening to my voice too. Next up Eimear, Enjoy the magic of the brain, heart and soul coming together through her music xx
Also I’d love if you might comment below with what you enjoy most about my letters and if you have any feelings on the above topic….Might you need to take a “Slow Down’ day too? Life can be very busy can’t it? It’s not easy to keep motoring….always good to take a breathe and give yourself the best chance to live the best life we can while we are here.
Lots of love always from me to you and keep looking up,
Lou xx
PS Friday’s substack is all about where my phrase ‘Keep Looking Up’ came from ;)
🙏“Slow me down Lord”, a phrase I hear over time but do we really take time to pause, reflect, recharge without rewinding our thoughts to change or put things into perspective.? It is about moving forward Louise!! Knowing ourselves and what we really want out of life which takes time to process. At the crossroads of life we release our emotions, realise our worth, believe we can be who we really are and regain hope , strength and courage to do so. Listening to the positivity in your voice and those reflective 3 minutes with Eimear have impacted on my personal journey of which I’m truly thankful. 🙏🎼👏☘️🫶🦋🐞🌈
Things I love about you and your letter: 1) your utter natural genuineness, 2) your irrepressible spirit, 3) your deep care for yourself and others 4) your amazing metaphors, 5) the reminders I always seem to need at the exact time you are reminding me, 6) all of the above x100.