Hit the Pause Button – via The Silver Pen

You all know how I love The Silver Pen blog and its author Hollye Jacobs.  You also know how important it is to “hit the pause button” now and then. And yet. I know, I know. But please read Hollye’s wise words on this subject. I can’t think of a better way to continue through the holidays than to pause. Amen.

Here’s Hollye:

Hit the Pause Button


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Hit the Pause Button

Today at yoga, my instructor talked about her theme of “Hitting the Pause Button” during this holiday season, one that is especially and incessantly full of hustle and bustle.

The image of hitting a virtual pause button (you know how I love images!) really resonated with me. After all, it is so visually and physically translatable. Well, physical translation may be a wee bit challenging. Probably not for you, but definitely for me!

By the way, as part of this month’s (promised) self-care programming, I am going to yoga a minimum of 4 times per week this month. I have to tell you that Yoga has become my opportunity to pause. Seriously. And a seriousSilver Lining. I never would have thought that I’d be able to get out of my head as easily and as quickly as I do at yoga. Though I do have thoughts that float in and out (e.g., “I need to return all of those emails” or “What on earth am I going to make for dinner?”), I find that I am so much less likely to obsess and – thankfully – let the white noise float on out of my mind.

After class, I jotted down a few other ways to “Hit the Pause Button” during this holiday season:

  1. Bookend the day with reading inspiring quotes and then sit and think about them. Simple, I know. But also quite powerful.
  2. Get some fresh air. Look at the clouds in the sky. Watch the waves roll in (sorry for all of you who are freezing your toushies off!).
  3. Power down.  Take at least one day a week (or even an hour or two a day) without any “screens”. A good friend of mine has “Screen-less Sundays” – how great is that?
  4. Take a long nap. Schedule two full hours to dedicate to this nap. If you find that you have a difficult time sleeping, then just close your eyes and breathe. Keep breathing until you – yep! – fall asleep.
  5. Reflect. Write down anything that you’ve learned in the past week. Ask yourself: Is there anything that you really want to accomplish? What can you help move forward? Is anything holding you back?

The Silver Lining of hitting my own pause button is that I feel so much more creative and replenished – even from the teeniest of things.  Additionally, hitting the pause button helps me assess situations and prevents me from making knee-jerk decisions.

Okay me again, Frances. If this inspired you, and you or someone you love is dealing with breast cancer, Hollye’s beautiful book  The Silver Lining – A Supportive and Insigtful Guide to Breast Cancer is due in March from Simon & Schuster and can be pre-ordered here.

7 comments

  1. Thanks for passing this along. I love to read Holly’s blog but you were first on the list this morning! I have ordered her book for a friend and I know she will appreciate it. Here’s a quote I heard this week that has been rattling around in my head:
    “I am only a saint, if “saint” means- A sinner who keeps on trying”. –Nelson Mandela
    How’s that for a humble pause??Thanks for the reminder.

    1. Thank you Leslie. If you and Laurette’s comments are any indication, we will all have much to remind us to pause today and beyond. Nelson Mandela’s death – and his eternal wisdom – are powerful reminders as we’ll. Thank you.

  2. Frances- really enjoyed the silver lining story. On my recent trip to Morocco we visited a pure and beautifully simple place outside of Marrakech in the desert in the foothills of the Atlas Mountians. It is called LE PAUSE and it’s symbol is the pause button. There is no electricity so you can’t plug in. You eat all your meals outside under a tent and there are candles in your semi open air rooms. We got to the place by camel. I watched the sunset drinking a glass of wine and the sunrise sipping hot tea and did a lot of hiking. It was heaven.

    1. Oh Laurette, what a beautiful image this is and what a beautiful experience it must have been. Thank you, thank you for sharing it with us. X f

  3. Frances, yet again, I love your posts. A reminder of what matters and what we need to do to keep our balance during these hectic and busy weeks (and all year round) Sounds like what I heard a few weeks ago …..just need to work on implementing it……Happy Happy Holidays

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