We should not wait to be consumed by deluge the of stress. It is written in Veronica Roth's book, Allegiant "I suppose a fire that burns that bright is not meant to last". This is one of my favorite quotes and it's because of how beautiful and terrifying it is. It's often said that the people who are most outgoing, involved and always smiling are the ones that are dying on the inside. Whether you believe this or not, it's up to you. The point is we invest so much time on the people and activities around us that we forget to cater to ourselves and the maintenance of our souls. We spend all day thinking about our problems and responsibilities and not enough time adding fuel to the fire of our hearts. This fuel can be seen as motivation while the flames are our passions. We burn brightly for the things we love but not bright enough for ourselves.
The way I see it, we are not meant to be jacks of trade and masters of nothing. We should not be running around doing a million things a day, investing little to no time on a particular skill or activity. I've come to realize that too much activity makes the soul sick. We need time to listen to the beating of our hears, time to listen to the whispers of our mind and to inhale the breath of our souls. Silence is not a bad thing. It's in that silence that we are able to think without any possible intrusion of noise. As beautiful as music is, sometimes its good to turn it off and just listen to nothing. It's in that type of silence that we realize how crowded our heads are with noise.
The best way I can describe this state of mind is like a party. Ever been to a function where the music is deafening and the room is so crowded that the windows have fogged up as a result of body heat? Or the smell of alcohol and smoke choke your senses and make it hard to enjoy your time? To me this is how it feels to be mentally overwhelmed and as much as you try to make your way to that bathroom, the place is so over capacity that its difficult to push through the crowd. Times like these we find ourselves trapped in a corner focusing on not passing out.
If we could just learn to say no to certain responsibilities and not place ourselves in situations where the tides of stress over take us I am sure more people would be happier. We need to learn our own boundaries and limits and learn how to not push past them. It's something I still struggle with but understand our problems are always the first step to solving them. We should not wait until the last minute when we are literally forcing ourselves to swallow the pains of our stress. Take a breath. Matter of fact, take two. Go to your room and lay on your bed in the comfort and silence of your room for a bit. Relax.
