It was spring of 2021. I was staying positive and seeing silver linings everywhere. This doesn’t mean I wasn’t in over my head. I was less than a year into my new business, on a steep learning curve, and making all sorts of amazing products. I was putting in a brand-new section of garden, in soil that was...not really soil but actually hard, clay fill. I was deep in planting our regular garden, too, sowing seeds, transplanting flowers and veggies and spending an inordinate amount of time hand watering. My son was homeschooling and his whole curriculum was on me. My daughter, finally back at school, was home off the bus every day at 1pm - school ended early that year. To top it off, I was working two jam-packed, stressful days a week as medical assistant and phlebotomist at our local rural clinic.
And you know what? (Other than my days in medicine lol), I was living my dream life. Doing everything I’d ever wanted. It was absolutely wonderful!
And I felt like I was going to break. I was in a beautiful stretch and about to fall over. I remember one gorgeous day in particular. I was taking a lunch break on our blue bench, soaking up spring sunshine. I was excited, filled with all sorts of plans for my new garden. I felt glorious and more relaxed than I’d been for a very, very long time. I reached my hand up to brush my hair out of my eyes. Gently my hand touched my forehead. I felt pain. What?!? I applied a little pressure. I felt increased pain. I knew right away what it meant. I was holding on tight to every bit of tension in my life. With my forehead acting as the storage locker. Or more on point, the baggage locker.
I hadn’t even known it. But I knew now for sure that something had to give. It couldn’t be my schedule. I was in no position to drop even a single task. I was already down to bare bones. But something had to give, of that I was sure.
That was the same day my husband took these photos. When I see these photos I cringe. And I love the moment they capture. It was a special time. I’m smiling. I was truly happy. But that smile. It's so stiff. It's strained. New signs of aging were creeping across my face. From all the stress. I knew if I stopped the tension from spreading further, I could halt other ill effects stealing through me with stealth. If I could relax my face altogether, I would even reverse the damage. I'd have less lines. The state of my face would tell me the truth. Relaxing my face would relax my life. Because, you know, all that works in both directions. Every bit of us is interconnected.
I'm happy to say I did manage to relax. I turned that tension on its head. It wasn’t so hard. It sounds kind of silly but what I did was massage my forehead a few times a day, for several weeks, concentrating on the area right above my eyebrows. A spot that hurt so much. Over time, the pain receded and then it was gone. I'm sure I still looked tired. I know I still looked tired - I've seen those photos, too! But I was well on my way to letting go. Bye bye strained eyes and clenched jaw. Bye bye new lines.
I felt more relaxed, though still overworked by all I love. Less tension meant I got clear enough to make decisions to edit my life. Make it manageable. Within six months I was down to one day a week at the clinic, within nine months my son replaced homeschool with online and just one year later I'd left the clinic entirely. I promise myself there will never again be a spring like that. And when I feel a little tender, you know what I do? I massage it away. I feel better. I look better. My spirit thanks me. My skin thanks me. And following my dreams feels a whole lot more comfortable.
I suggest you give it a try, too. Sometimes it's the simplest solutions that work best. Want to know more about my skin care regimen? Then read this blog post now.
Wishing you the very best,
Chwynyn
Comments