A Chic Paris Holiday Season – Day 13 – Take A Break

 December 15, 2020

In Fiona Ferris’s book, A Chic and Simple Christmas, the author mentions that it’s okay to rest when one is tired. We seem to live in a time that idolizes “busy, busy, busy.” Whenever I talk to someone and ask how are they – the answer invariably is a breathless “SO busy” with words falling over themselves at top speed. I fall into this mindset quite easily, too. Today was a good example of starting out with a lovely plan for the day only to somehow get to that breathless, stressed, “busy, busy, busy” mode by mid-afternoon.  (Just to be clear here, I am not an emergency room physician with lives on the line each work shift or a titan of industry juggling mergers and take-overs to keep thousands employed.)

I started out the day with my usual coffee-gratitude walk followed by breakfast. After that I met a friend for a leisurely, chatting stroll around Place Victor Hugo to admire the decorated shop windows. I picked up a small Christmas present and a fresh baguette as I walked home. Somewhere around the end of my lunch, I was bitten by the “busy, busy, busy” bug and plunged into a headlong, breathless rush as if I were racing on a treadmill against some malicious clock.

Happily, sanity returned. I paused for a (decaffeinated) cup of tea and a bit of a rest. About 30 minutes later, I returned to doing all of my same tasks but with a calmer and happier feeling inside.  Yes, it is the holiday season and many of us have more items on our daily to-do list.  AND we can still pause for a rest if we begin to feel tired or overwhelmed or as if we are on an endless treadmill of “busy, busy, busy.”

The chicken soup is completed. The laundry is completed. The 90-minute video-conference call went well (even though I was a few minutes late to it.) All is well.

Best wishes for a moment of calm in your day, too!