THE POWER OF A NAP

Earlier this week I was having one of THOSE days. You know the kind, the high-pace and high-pressure kind which threatens our sanity and spirituality. I was doing my very best to keep up and to work through all the stress and then I made a strategic decision: I was going to take a 30-minute nap. So, right in the middle of the afternoon I laid down on our sofa at lunch, foregoing my PBJ, and caught a short power nap. I don’t know how you are but I make better decisions when I am rested. I think more clearly when I am not worn down and wearied by the day. I manage stress more successfully when my body and mind are working for me and not against me.

Normally I function with a positive outlook on life. I am generally contented and hope-filled. Since I understand what my “normal” frame of mind is like, when I sense a shift in my thinking I know it’s time to change up my day. If my thoughts are trending towards being downcast and dark, it’s like an alarm goes off and, if I can, I take time to evaluate whether what I am experiencing is physical, emotional or spiritual. Much of the time it’s physical. Maybe I’ve not been getting enough sleep, so I am sleep-deprived. Another thing I consider is what I’ve been eating. As someone said, “It’s not what you’re eating--it’s what’s eating you.” A third factor, which is big for me, is whether I am playing hoops with the boys, and getting adequate exercise. To ignore these three factors is make life harder than it already is.

I am going to continue to explore, over the next few posts, the theme of how to be at our best when life is bringing us its worst. It may not be possible to reduce all the stresses in your life, but you can be better prepared to deal with all that life brings your way. If you don’t take good care of you, no one else will. I am pretty sure that what some of us need is a good power nap. Come to think of it, I could…ZZZZZZZZZZZ!