On cleansing

Running running running. I’ve been running nonstop for weeks now!

Wake up at 5:45, work all day, eat lunch in front of my computer, go to the gym, come home, make dinner, clean up dinner, clean the house, work on wedding things, go to bed. Wake up at 5:45, work all day, eat lunch in front of my computer, go to the gym… You get the idea.

I need to slowwww down. This hectic schedule is wearing away at me! The busier I get, the first things to go are things I love: reading, date nights, friends. I’ve neglected my spiritual needs and the needs of others around me. I’m exhausted!

I made time to go to hot yoga earlier this week, and it was such a wonderful treat. I’ve traded yoga for the gym this summer, and while I love going to the gym, it doesn’t awaken my spirit in the same way yoga does. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed it.

And then last night, Bryan and I had a conversation about faith, and I realized just how much my fellowship with God and those in my church body has suffered since my schedule got busier. In honesty, those were the first things to go.  No wonder I’m feeling pulled in a million directions. I’ve lost sight of my compass!

So tonight, after work and the gym and wedding stuff, while Bryan is still out on a bike ride and I have the house to myself, I’m changing my trajectory. I went straight to my safe place: the shower. I love the shower! It’s where I go whenever I need to be alone. When I’m sad, when I need to cry, when I’m happy, when I need to think, when I’m mad, when I need a fresh perspective. It’s literally a clean start!

I heard Pharrell tell Oprah (that sounds like a joke, but it’s totally not) on her Sirius radio station that he thinks of his best song lyrics in the shower because that’s where his senses are most deprived. I totally buy that. You can’t hear much, you can’t see very far, all you feel is water. Makes complete sense to me.

So, I took myself right into that shower and gave myself a good, deep cleanse. I exfoliated with a scrub, a body brush, a face brush and a foot exfoliant. I deep conditioned my hair. I shaved my legs. I turned off the lights and felt the water on my skin. I listened to the silence. I prayed. I breathed.

I plan to make time this weekend for more soul-feeding. More yoga, more reading, more writing, more time outside. And I’ll make more time next week. I need that.