Every person in this room with a cell phone knows what happens when we don’t charge our phone. We might try turning down the screen brightness, stop checking our texts, and count down the moments until the phone shuts off altogether.
People function just like cell phones. We require energy to perform tasks. And just like our phones, when we are not fully charged, we don’t function as well.
Recharging for people isn’t one size fits all — it’s different for everyone, but it essentially means taking care of yourself by taking a break, relaxing, going on vacation, or taking some “me” time.
As you know, I was just on a vacation in Florida. As you can imagine, I spent wonderful time out of my routine and had fewer demands and responsibilities than usual. My day was spent looking out at water, splashing in the pool and relaxing.
It was a very successful recharge. Much of the time I was outside doing nothing. Thinking a little, stretched out in the sun, solving a few problems, and talking to God.
Like years past, I was outside most of the day every day. I don’t do that at home, unless I’m working in the yard. I was immersed in the beauty of the natural world, and I felt an incredible peace and comfortable quiet come over me. We don’t do that enough. We don’t take enough quiet time like this.
I also know first-hand that even when we have down time, we don’t always use it wisely or in a way that helps us relax and de-stress. Sometimes we take a break, but we don’t focus on ourselves. We don’t really take a break, we just substitute one activity for another.
We all experience times in our lives when we are crazy busy. During those times, we can’t find peace and we aren’t getting enough sleep or eating well. We are burning the candle at both ends and running out of steam. There is no energy for creativity or for reflection when we are in a state like that. We are just putting one foot in front of the other to try to get everything done.
When all we can think about is what we have to do, we are not living our best life. We are focused on the negative, and when we do that, we start to spiral out of control and into depression.
But if we can take a break from the negative aspects of our lives, and recharge, we can gain perspective, which allows us to stop the spiral. One of the most effective experiences that helps us to stop spiraling out of control is feeling a sense of “awe.”
According to Psychology professor Dacher Keltner, “Awe has the power to make us feel small, thereby inspiring humility.”
So, we take a vacation and go look at something much bigger than we are. We peer over the ocean and take in the breeze and the awe of its size. We look at the mountains and feel their age and their ruggedness. We marvel at the expanse of prairie land. We take time to watch the sun rise and set. And we breathe.
In the first few moments as we behold that sight – the waterfall, the mountain, the canyon, the meadow, the desert, we feel a rush of awe. If we stay there for a moment, unlike most Americans who snap a picture and then turn to the next thing, if we continue to look, if we settle in and watch and sit quietly, other experiences take over. We see our smallness in comparison to what is before us. We feel more humble. Our humility leads us to feel a greater sense of forgiveness and compassion for others. Others suddenly have greater meaning to us. We are more relaxed and can listen in a new way. A calmer way.
Looking at the ocean and hearing the sound of the waves, looking at the woods and hearing the birds, taking in the sounds of nature anywhere is healing. Listening to our heartbeat, and hearing our breathing does not occur regularly in our day-to-day lives. As we continue to sit quietly, we listen to advice from our higher power. We see that troubling issue from a different side. We find a solution. We sit a little longer and we relax further.
We begin to create – a song, an image, words, new ideas, new ways. The new ways help us to analyze differently. We begin to feel more whole. We feel refreshed and energized. The world starts to look a little better. We have more hope. We have been recharged.
Although there are no oceans or mountains in Indiana, we can still find awe here. We can recharge in our own yard, in our own neighborhood.
We can take a walk, look at a body of water, watch the birds at a feeder, watch it rain, admire the trees, the flowers, look at the night sky, sit quietly and stare off into space. The key is to marinate in the quiet, listening for the sounds outside of the noise inside our heads.
Inside our homes we can recharge by taking a relaxing bath, or reading a book, or journaling or coloring. Have you noticed how popular adult coloring books have become?
We have to recharge and find quiet time more often. The end result is undeniable – we get a break from stress, our creativity is ignited, we prevent burnout and we have an opportunity to connect with God. The inner peace that comes when we have been recharged heals our bodies. We find this verse in Proverbs:
“A peaceful heart gives life to the flesh.” — Proverbs 14:30
Honestly, recharging, taking a break, relaxing, breathing, spending time with nature, are all important ways for us to take care of ourselves….to love ourselves. When we love ourselves, and respect ourselves, we take care of ourselves. We get some exercise, we eat well, we try to get sufficient sleep. Taking time to recharge is us loving ourselves.
My friends, I want us to be good to ourselves. We should treat ourselves the way we would treat someone we love.
You have probably heard the phrase Love Heals Us. I don’t know exactly how it works, but I’ve seen in happen. I think love heals us because when someone else loves us, they treat us well, and they behave as though they care about us, we slowly begin to believe that we aren’t worthless — we have value. Their behavior toward us is loving, and that loving behavior heals us. When they give us countless grace, their love heals us. When they stick it our with us, their love heals us.
Do you treat yourself like someone that you love? Do you treat yourself as though you have value? Do you set aside time for yourself? Quiet time to just think, or reflect, or be with yourself? Take time to recharge, my friends. Taking time to recharge is a beautiful way to say to yourself, I love you. Amen.
Akiroq Brost writes: “Do something nice for yourself today. Find some quiet, sit in stillness, breathe. Put your problems on pause. You deserve a break.” — Akiroq Brost
My prayer for each of us is to do that, at least once this week. Carve out some quiet time for yourself, and put everything on pause.
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