My life is busy, and I’m sure yours is, too. Many of us don’t take enough time to rest and relax during the day. We just want to do one more thing, write one more page, clean one more area in our home, finish the blog post, finish editing the photograph, and the list goes on causing stress.
Sometimes I’m up really late at night trying to get a blog post just right. Maybe I’ve had trouble getting the photographs to upload, or formatting, or whatever it is, and I think I HAVE to finish before I go to bed. So I push myself and sometimes don’t finish until after midnight.
Why do I find it so hard to stop? Do you run into that problem?
Work cannot take all of our time. Life is meant to be enjoyed. We need to focus on what is at hand. When we are always thinking about the next thing, we aren’t really in the moment. Instead, we are stressing about whatever else we have lined up for the day. [bctt tweet=”We don’t need to be continually rushing from one thing to another.” username=”GaylWright”]
Our bodies need adequate rest and relaxation. Most of us suffer from too much stress, and I think part of that is because we don’t slow down. We don’t stop and notice the small things. It is important to find ways to eliminate stress in order to enjoy life and be healthy.

Health and Well-Being
Recently a good friend of ours had heart bypass surgery. Just last week he had a heart catheterization and blockages were found in several arteries. And suddenly he needed surgery. I’m sure that was not something he had in his plans, but he’s glad it was found in time to do something about it. He’s doing well, by the way.
[bctt tweet=”That got me thinking about my own health and well-being. ” username=”GaylWright”]At my latest doctor appointment I had a mostly good report. My blood pressure was a little high, but she did not seem overly concerned. However, the lower number, which is the resting heartbeat, was much higher than it should be.
With the recent surgery of my friend, and knowing that years ago my dad had the same thing, it was a wake up call for me. [bctt tweet=”I immediately did some research to find natural ways to lower that diastolic pressure.” username=”GaylWright”] Turns out there are some simple things I can do to make a difference within a short period of time. I am already putting some of them into practice. One recommendation is to find ways to relieve stress.
Relieving Stress with Poetry
Earlier yesterday I spent time with the online Magnetic Poetry kit to write a poem and wanted to publish it last night. But I didn’t have a blog post to go with it. I almost pushed myself to finish last night. [bctt tweet=”But I took my own advice and decided to set it aside until I had time today.” username=”GaylWright”] Believe it or not that took off some stress. There were only bits of time today to work on it, but I kept at it when I could and finally finished after supper. Here’s the poem. I hope you enjoy it!
A Beautiful Life
Listen to intuition
Rest and relax
Feel gentle breezes
Breathe deeply
Climb a tree
Let your soul blossom
Love always
Live a beautiful life
~gayl wright
May we always be full of love and look for ways to encourage ourselves and others, looking to God for strength to become who we are meant to be. [bctt tweet=”May we follow our dreams and use our talents to make the world a better place.” username=”GaylWright”]
I’m linking up with: #HeartEncouragement, #ThoughtProvokingThursday, #FreshMarketFriday, #Grace&Truth
Such timely advice for me in this current season of life. Thank you, Gayl. God bless you! 🙂
So glad to encourage you, Cheryl. I need this reminder constantly. It’s so easy to push on and not take time to stop for a breather. So glad you stopped by tonight!
Blessings to you!
Sabbath is so important for us all.
You are right, Tara. It really is necessary for our health. 🙂
Blessings to you!
I always find your poetry and words so refreshing and restful, Gayl. I’m so glad we were neighbours over at Crystal’s today! Slowing down has been a huge tool in my own navigation with my chronic depression… decompressing, resetting, call it what you will, resting and stopping and giving yourself breathing room is too important. So glad you talked about it today. I hope readers are inspired!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Christine! I’m glad we were neighbors, too. It is sometimes hard to slow down, but I am always glad when I do. Taking time to pause periodically during the day helps me to refresh and refocus. Now if I could just remember to do it often enough. 🙂
I hope readers are inspired, too. I think we all need to be reminded often. Blessings to you, dear friend!
Dear Gayl, I loved reading your post about finding ways to lower stress levels. It reminded me of the encouragement I felt from you during your 31Day Journey this past fall! I realized I have missed your words about self-care and making healthy choices with these bodies we travel in. And then your beautiful poem just confirmed it all. Thank you so much for this good reminder. Hugs and Love to you Dear Friend!
Thank you, Bettie! I appreciate your encouragement. 🙂 I guess I have not done well with self-care the past few months, so it’s time for me to make it more of a priority and maybe it will inspire others, too.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the poem! I tried to write one the other day and even went to the magnetic poetry website but just couldn’t find the right words. Then on Wednesday I tried again and had no trouble. Guess it was the right time. 🙂
Blessings, hugs and love to you sweet friend! xoxo
Gayl, I was just talking about this with a coworker, and your post was timely:)
Glad to oblige. Crystal! 🙂 We need to be more intentional about resting, slowing down and enjoying life. It’s so hard sometimes, isn’t it?
Thanks for visiting. Many blessings to you!