Spread too thin?

I am a big fan of Kate Bowler and her podcast Everything Happens.

This is how she began a recent episode:

“We know instinctively that life is a treadmill. Time is passing. People wanted to hear back to that e-mail. Weren’t you supposed to get groceries? Why aren’t the dishes done? Did you meet that deadline already? And someone in the other room already needs you right now. No. Now. You can hear them calling through the walls. You’re moving faster and faster. Now you’re running. And there is no way to keep up that pace. During this pandemic, our lives have shrunk, our choices and our movements have been dramatically restricted. But the obligations never stopped did they? Everyone needs you all the time. There’s too much to do. It never stops. For all those who are trapped inside a pace they didn’t mean or want to keep, this conversation is for you.”

I heartily recommend listening to the whole episode, here.

She and her guest Shauna Niequist talk about what it feels like to be spread too thin and some ideas about how to take on less rather than more. They suggest rejecting the productivity narrative (the busier and more exhausted we are, the more important and worthy we must be), the recharge your batteries myth (all I need is one good night’s sleep and I can manage all that currently overwhelms me.) Shauna suggests self-care. She says…

“Whenever I talk about self-care, I’m very much not talking about like manicures and massages and, you know, high-end face oil. I’m talking about breathing in between meetings with clients. I’m talking about practicing aggressive, radical self-compassion and sitting outside for four minutes before you have to get on your next call. I’m talking about calling a friend when you know you’re too depleted to speak the truth to yourself and you need somebody to do it for you. When I talk about being present, when I talk about living a different way, when I talk about a simple, simpler, more soulful life, none of this is about fancy stuff or fancy experiences. It’s about honoring your own body and your own spirit enough to nourish and nurture them instead of doing it only for other people or instead of expecting other people to do it for you.”

In what ways are you spread too thin these days? How is God calling you into a more soulful life? What is one thing you can do to nourish and nurture yourself this day? Let us know in the comments below.

-Written by Amy Miracle

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