Being rested doesn’t mean we feel perfect or that we never tire again. Being rested means we have capacity to be with what is here right now.

No, you are not resting wrong. No, you are not flawed for not feeling fully rested. No, you are not obligated to be any certain way for anyone other than yourself. No, you are not required to simplify or organize your humanity into a more palatable form.

In case you need to remember too:

• it is normal and natural to feel disconnected for your/any sense of identity

• it is normal and natural to be unable to complete tasks like you did pre-pandemic (this applies for life actually, because each moment is new)

• it is normal and natural to feel smothered and immobilized by the ongoing trauma against marginalized communities, and being aware of or witnessing it

• it is normal and natural to be backlogged in feeling emotions and/or acknowledging your thoughts

• it is normal and natural to want things to be familiar, easy or simpler

• it is normal and natural to feel frustrated, angry or defeated about the new forms of uncertainty

1 year, 1 month, and counting. Here right now is nowhere near neat or pretty. What is here right now as countries navigate variant transmission and attempt to keep community care in practice there is a whole lot of fatigue, exhaustion, burnout and grief. One of the most difficult aspects is to recognize we are resting and still not feel better, still not feel grounded enough, still not feel able to secure stability. It is so difficult to be resting as well as we can, but for it to be insufficient.

I have been witnessing, and admittedly at times furtively attempting to swim against, the heavy undercurrents of chaos and complexity that are present. It feels like peripheral hysteria and the least I can do in the most overwhelming moments is to remind myself I am a humxn being living my humanity. It stands in front of me or sits in my lap whenever I stop moving/doing/focusing on commitments or responsibilities.

Some people are so tired they are foregoing protective and preventive measures.
Some people are so tired they are feeling near hysterical on a daily- or hourly- basis.
This spectrum spans far and some actions, like being too centered in our subjective experiences, unfairly continues to impair communities around us.

Even resourcing your most supportive health, fitness and wellbeing practices pandemic pressurized fatigue is real. You may be resting and rested and still feel:

• strained by the multilayered tolls of living through a pandemic (mental, emotional, neurophysiological, physical, energetic, subtle, inflammatory and beyond)

• tired of trying, whether it’s to make the best of things or even simply accepting things as they currently are

• exhausted by the want of and craving comforts which continue to be delayed for the sake of community care and protection

• tired of the hyper vigilence in how we interact with each other, if at all; distanced, untouchable and wary

• overwhelmed, disappointed, anxious and/or frustrated by reality firsthand or via the news

• numb or disassociative

• paralyzed, hopeless and/or bleak while being able to acknowledge lots to be grateful for

• tired of not staying grounded or sick of the uncertainty

• exhausted by needing what you aren’t getting (connection, comfort, intimacy, relief, acknowledgement)

May our compassion include ourselves. May our joy exist unthreatened by the unknown of the future. May our hearts stay open in feeling and facing everything in its own need, time and place. May our honesty support the decisions we make in a difficult yet significant existence. It all counts and most people are doing the best with what they have and can.

We’re here now, together apart. With and for each other. And sometimes, not. Because we can’t. And that doesn’t make anyone less than or not enough.

For those who are seeking to redirect their attention:

How are and what are all you are feeling?

Where do urgency or demands show up for you? Where do those come from? (personal relationship to self vs collective/social cultures)

How can you make different decisions to conserve your time, energy and attention from being divested in ways that are not currently supportive?

For free resources, tools and more journal prompts click through this Library or explore modalities up top. Many of these are are online for you 24/7 and free. And for those who are paying attention, ready to receive and/or seeking fuller guidance and support, get in touch. Let’s become rested together.