Can I Let Myself Stop Running?
By Kate Lemay, Founder of ETJ *
The Problem with Seasonal Transitions
Nature understands seasons better than humans do.
No tree stands in September wishing it could keep producing leaves at July’s pace.
No lake apologizes when it freezes.
No garden feels guilty when it’s time to rest.
Yet we often expect ourselves to maintain the same output year-round.
When a season changes, we bring the habits of the old season into the new one.
The person entering fall after a relaxed summer says:
“I need to get serious again.”
The person leaving an intense season says:
“I should keep pushing while I have momentum.”
Both are resisting reality.
The season has already changed.
The question is whether we will.
The Art of Downshifting
The hardest thing about downshifting isn’t having less to do.
It’s trusting that less is allowed.
For months, perhaps years, your value has been measured by response time, productivity, leadership, effort, and output.
Then suddenly there is an open afternoon.
A free weekend.
A pocket of time.
And instead of feeling freedom, many of us feel anxiety.
Our minds immediately begin searching for work to fill the space.
Why?
Because stillness is unfamiliar.
And unfamiliar things often feel unsafe.
Three Practices for Any Transition
Whether you’re moving from summer into a busy fall or leaving a demanding season and entering a quieter one, I find three things helpful:
1. Don’t stop. Slow.
Most people think transitions require dramatic change.
Often they require gradual change.
Instead of going from 80 miles an hour to parked, try 80 to 60.
60 to 40.
40 to 20.
Give your nervous system time to catch up.
2. Create intentional emptiness.
Not time for chores.
Not time for errands.
Not time for projects.
Actual empty time.
A walk.
A campfire.
A cup of coffee without an agenda.
Five minutes looking at the lake.
Space isn’t wasted time.
It’s where integration happens.
3. Let the next season reveal itself.
We often think we need a complete plan before we can relax.
The truth is that clarity usually arrives after we make space, not before.
You don’t need to know exactly what comes next.
You only need to create enough room to hear it.
Permission
Recently I realized that I wasn’t looking for more productivity.
I wasn’t even looking for more time.
I was looking for permission.
Permission to stop earning my rest.
Permission to not maximize every free hour.
Permission to believe that an open afternoon has value even if nothing measurable happens.
Maybe that’s the invitation of every seasonal transition.
Not to become someone new.
Not to accomplish more.
Simply to release our grip on the season that is ending and trust the season that is arriving.
Nature does this effortlessly.
Perhaps we can learn from her.
The leaves don’t cling to summer.
They let go.
And in that letting go, something new becomes possible.
Love,
Kate
Invitations:
- Journey with Christina Alexa through, “What Releasing Distraction has Brought Me”.
- Check out our guest contributor this week, Random Pam! Pam Logue is a beloved ETJ retreat-goer and gorgeous example of transformation in-action. She shares her heart here: Words of Connection from Random Pam.
- Join community in a FREE Sacred Sunday Yoga class, every week 8 – 8:40 am!
- The Maine Retreat is shaping up to be amazing. Join us in Maine!
