Giving Yourself Permission

​As August is winding down, I want you to notice how much permission you give yourself.
 
You are allowed to:
 
Sleep in late.
 
Stay up late.
 
Read all day.
 
Daydream.
 
Have zero agenda for the day and just see how it unfolds.
 
Say no, when you usually say yes.
 
Say yes, when you usually say no.
 
Not be productive.
 
Release your to-dos and just stare at the flowers/ocean/trees.
 
Stop doing.
 
Relax.
 
 
For some of you, that list will trigger resistance. Your inner critic will not like those ideas. It prefers you to be in control. I know that when things externally feel out of control, you want to control what you can even more. But it’s safe to stop trying to control yourself/everything and allow yourself to be.

Control can be overt, or it can be subtle: the to-dos, the order of them, what you allow yourself to have. You’re not here to reach some intangible goal of being the best through suffering or righteous limitation. You’re here to participate in, and savor life. To have fun. To find freedom and joy in your physicality. To engage your senses.
 
You’re here for ease, not struggle.
 
No matter how serious it might seem in the world, that’s when you need to give yourself permission even more for the things you deny yourself: that bowl of ice cream, that glass of wine, cancelling your day for self-care, savoring a juicy piece of fruit or a pastry, lingering in bed after you wake up.
 
Now obviously, there’s a difference between over-indulgence and what I’m talking about. I’m talking to those of you who control yourselves so thoroughly that you don’t even realize how narrow your definition of what’s acceptable has become. Those who feel “good” when they restrict themselves. Those who’s inner critic is brutal and always beating them up to accomplish/do/achieve/deny. 
 
To those of you, I encourage you to say, “Not today, thank you.”
 
Many people tend to drive themselves- I know I can. And yet, part of the spiritual lesson right now is to pause. Yes there’s global work to be done, yes the world needs your attention and light, but if you aren’t giving yourself permission to take the time to pause, to be, to disengage and care for yourself, you’ll burn out.
 
Pause doesn’t mean you don’t care, quite the opposite: you care about what’s happening and you recognize that you’ll be more effective when replenished.
 
Stop placing limits on yourself and give yourself permission to do the things that would augment your life: hug a tree, walk barefoot in the grass, listen to really good music, color, savor the feel of the sun on your face or a cool breeze on a hot day, bask in the smell of freshly baked bread or fresh brewed coffee- engage all your senses. Give yourself permission to experience life.