Between Waves.
On the body's demand for rest, the wisdom of doing nothing – and letting go of the last wave to be ready for the next.
For days I had been exhausted, and no amount of coffee or discipline could talk my body out of it. I moved through the apartment like a bear in hibernation – heavy, slow, half-asleep at the desk. Every attempt to work went nowhere. My body wasn't suggesting a pause. It was demanding one.
In "The Art of Letting Go" I wrote that letting go of control doesn't mean doing nothing – it means acting differently. This letter answers from the other side: sometimes doing nothing is the action, and rest itself is the inner voice speaking.
If your body has been asking for a pause and you have been bargaining with it – after this task, after this week, soon – this letter answered exactly that.
Dear traveler,
Your body is demanding a pause. Sometimes we have to make it unmistakably clear to you: now it is time to rest.
Heeding this signal is also part of hearing the inner voice. Doing "nothing" is intuition too. Is truth. It cannot be "skipped". In doing nothing lies wisdom. There is much to learn from the nothing. It helps you come back into the now. To put thoughts into perspective. To look at things from a new angle. Re-frame. Doing nothing thus gives wings to doing. We draw new strength. New energy. New inspiration.
It is the time between two waves – the last one no longer carries you, and the next is still keeping you waiting. Can you feel that every attempt to stand on the board right now is pointless? Instead, enjoy the moment. Allow yourself to breathe. To integrate the process of the last wave and bring it to a close. It is time to let go. Attachment is narrow and diffuse. Letting go opens the space, creates clarity and new lightness. Only when we let go of the last wave are we ready for the next. And the next one will surely come. Have trust. Let go. Come into the now. Breathe. Sense what you feel like doing. And do just that. Nothing more is needed right now. That is enough. You are enough. And you are in the right place. Right now.
Thank you for being here.
If something in these letters stayed with you, take it along – think about it, write your own answer, or just let it sit.
And if not today, that's okay too. There's no rush.
Until next time,
– Jan