Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment, but one of my all-time favorite pastimes is trying to bodysurf the waves on the beach in Mexico. I can’t simply “lay out” like a grown up and just enjoy the sun and the sound of the rolling waves. I have to get in there! It started when I was about nine years old, my parents bought a week at a timeshare on the beach and that became our summer vacation every year. We would get out there, right where the waves would crest and tread water. We’d laugh and scream for hours, excitedly awaiting the arrival of “The Big Kahuna” so we could catch it and ride it in. Sometimes we would catch in with the great pride of accomplishment, but most times, we’d just get washed up on the shore, with only half our swimsuits, hair tangled all over our faces and sand in every nook and cranny. Yet we’d continue to do it, over and over again. When we would get tired, we’d lay down on the sand and keep watching everyone else until we were ready to go back in.
My love for those waves didn’t stop when I was a child.
This picture is only a couple of years ago, when I somehow convinced a couple of my besties to join me in the bodysurfing shenanigans. The water was cold and we didn’t stay nearly as long. (It turns out, the experience of the loss of swimsuit parts, and sand in every nook and cranny, feels a little different when you’re forty, than it does when you’re nine.) We got washed up on the shore with salt water up our noses, until we were worn out enough that we had to take a break to rest.
It was a great reminder.
Over the past few months, there have been so many incredible things happening with HeartStories. There is so much growth, there are beautiful new partnerships, and increased opportunities. It’s all wonderful, and along with that, there have been significant setbacks, unexpected challenges, and “opportunities to grow” on top of the enormous lift is already is to produce this event, month after month. Sometimes I just feel so tired, my body wants to quit. My brain knows better, I am not a quitter!
But my body is tired.
These past couple of weeks you may have noticed I’ve “missed” a few days of blogging. It hasn’t been an accident. It’s been a purposeful “rest”. When I’ve been up late with my family or working hard on a HeartStories project into the night, I’m choosing to rest just a little bit, instead of pushing through at all cost, and feeling so tired that I’m tempted to quit. It’s new to me. Stopping long enough to rest isn’t something that comes naturally.
It’s making all the difference.
Hear me, I know rest can seem like it’s impossible to find. but I’m learning to look for it in small doses, not huge extravagant spanses. I’m finding even in small doses, I’m more at peace and a little less stressed. I’m happier. I’m more patient. I can think more clearly. Right now, it still feels like a little bit of unknown territory, but I can tell it feels right.
Ultimately, it will lead to more success, not less.
At the end of the day, the best things in life require a lot of hard work. That means there will be times when you feel exhausted. You might feel beat up, washed up disoriented, and out of breath. You’ll feel like the fight is just too hard.
The next time you’re tempted to believe that the only answer is to quit . . .
remember that there is another way.
You don’t have to quit to survive.
You only need to find a way to rest.
to more love,
Crystal
p.s. This is a huge part of the theme of our casino party style, “You’re in Luck GNO” (coming up in 2 weeks!) because “luck” is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Do not quit preparing, do not quit working toward what you want. It’s the only way opportunity will find you!
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