Good morning, God, and thank you for this new day and my chance to live it. It's the first day of rest after six weeks of a really overwhelming schedule, during which I had to neglect many things, including these "chats" with you. It was a schedule that was kind of forced upon me, and one that I never would have chosen to have. I prefer to have a more moderate schedule, one with a balance between work and rest and other activities that are often more fulfilling than work.
The rest time now will be much appreciated. It always takes me several days to unwind after long periods of being overworked, and today is the first day of trying to unwind. I'm grateful that I got through the time relatively unscathed, though now I'm going to face the task of catching up with those things that have been neglected. That promises to keep me rather busy over the next couple of weeks, though it's not as difficult a kind of busy for me.
I often wonder about the busy times--I don't like them at all because they put me out of balance, but I do know that they make me appreciate the "normal" times much more. During the busy times I miss being able to relax, being able to carve out moments of peace in my day. I miss leaving work behind and going for a nice long walk or run. The busy times can make a day seem to be more of an ordeal than a gift, and I simply don't like that. Perhaps they happen to make me appreciate the less busy times more; perhaps they happen to help me to be able to deal with being busy more effectively. I don't know.
In any case, I'm grateful that now I have a few days of respite to look forward to, a few days of living more slowly and less intensely (I like living intensely, by the way--just not so much when the intensity is because of work). I look forward to waking up in the morning and knowing that I can use the day as I wish, for the most part. Thanks for this new day, and thanks for the flexibility it brings!
A reply:
You're very welcome. As you go through this new day, perhaps you could ponder something about these last six weeks: maybe they just happened, without any real lesson to bring to you. Perhaps any lesson that has come to you through the busyness has come from you, too. After all, you weren't the only person on this schedule, and it would be rather silly to think that everyone who went through this period being as busy as you has received the same lesson.
Life is life. It's an amazing process and experience, and it does tend to bring people what they need when they need it--or people find what they need in whatever comes. Will you now find something useful in this time of rest? Perhaps you'll find new ways of reflecting. Maybe you'll find the time to start another novel. Whatever comes of this positive time, you will find ways to make it happen. Whatever came of your time of unbalance, you found ways to learn the lessons, to understand the points, to comprehend the need to interact with life and living.
Your gratitude is important. And you know that you're thankful for some of the other elements of the busy time, too--earning more money, getting to work with more people, being able to help more people, and so on. It's also important that you recognize and understand the lack of balance--many people suffer in life because they never see that they're unbalanced, and thus they never understand that many of their fears and pains are caused by not leading a balanced life. And when you come through a time of little or no balance, it's very important that you seek out a balance as soon as you can.
Remember also, though, that this is the second time this summer that you've been out of balance. The first time was when you were finishing your novel, and your unbalance was just as severe as it was now. The only difference is that you chose to unbalance yourself and your life the first time, so it made more sense to you, as you were accomplishing a personal goal. The second time was thrust upon you, so it was much more unpleasant. Unbalance happens in many ways. Sometimes it's a choice, and sometimes it's not. Either way, the good thing is that you have learned from it--twice.
Enjoy the restful time.
