I’m pausing now

There are two kinds of pause. One is passive: I stop, I let go, I’m still, and I breathe out. The other pause is active: I’m attentive, I’m conscious in this moment, I take responsibility for the life I have right now, and I breathe in. There is power in our awareness that our choices do in fact make a difference.

I love Susan Shaw’s take on all of this, “The most helpful thing I grasped while waitressing was that some tables are my responsibility and some are not. A waitress gets overwhelmed if she has too many tables, and no one gets good service. In my life, I have certain things to take care of: my children, my relationships, my work, myself, and one or two causes. That’s it. Other things are not my table. I would go nuts if I tried to take care of everyone, if I tried to make everybody do the right thing. If I went through my life without ever learning to say, “Sorry, that’s not my table, Hon,” I would burn out and be no good to anybody. I need to have a surly waitress inside myself that I can call on when it seems everyone in the world is waving an empty coffee cup in my direction. My Inner Waitress looks over at them, keeping her six plates balanced and her feet moving, and says, “Sorry, Hon, not my table.”

The permission to say NO. . .or “I’m closed now,” is essential to our sanity. . .

I sell this sleep mask–I’m pausing–at my workshops. . .perfect for meetings, or when someone (you know or love) is adding one more thing to your plate. . .

If you’d like one (or ten), or know someone who needs one. . .email me at tdh@terryhershey.com, or call my office 1-800-524-5370.