A Place To Return To

It's been a minute since I wrote a blog post, well, if I'm being honest, more like a year than a minute. When I thought of writing again, I debated with myself on the right post to "come back with," and it wasn't until a few days ago that I had an idea. I was watching a Kdrama I love (which I won't name because it's not sponsored, lol), and they mentioned a quote that got me thinking. "And as always we are going for only as long as our breaths allow without being greedy, and whenever we run out of breath we will come back to that place." When I first heard it, it left me with a lot to think about and perhaps it's doing the same for you. So as you ponder on it, stay with me as we unpack what it means for me, and feel free to leave a comment on what you understand from it below.

For context, the quote references deep sea diving and how as people we try to stay in the water for as long as we can without losing our breath. The first part of the quote reminded me of our daily struggles and how we're all trying to keep going. If we're being honest, we sometimes feel overwhelmed and exhausted in our day-to-day lives (almost like we've been swimming for hours with no opportunity to come up for air). When you ask people how they're doing, they respond with "kung'ang'ana tu" which translates to "I'm hanging in there." For the most part, we take that as an acceptable answer, though if we dig deeper, how many people would we realize are swimming around trying to find their next chance to come up for some air? To bring it closer to home, how many of us would be honest enough to admit that maybe we do need to swim up to shore and take a few breaths?

The last part of the quote really hit home for me: "If we run out of breath, we will come back to that place." How often do we see life as a never-ending carousel? While this is true, life does move quickly, I wonder how many of us hold onto the belief that if we need time to catch our breath then it means we are failing and aren't doing it (life) right? In our desire to thrive and survive, have we taken away the much-needed room and space to come up for air, especially when our lungs are burning and screaming for it? And please don't get me wrong, I'm not saying give up on what you want or do not keep going. I'm simply asking you, as well as myself, what happens when we reach our limit and our lungs run out of air underwater? Do we have enough self-awareness to push ourselves as much as we can while also recognizing when we need to breathe new life into ourselves to keep going?

I sometimes think that's why holidays and vacation days are emphasized by people, schools, and organizations. There is a need to rest, reset, find a space to be ourselves, and shed some of the layers and weights that manifest in our daily lives. There is a need to remember that it's okay to take time to breathe. So, my question is, "Do you have a place to return to when your lungs are screaming for air?" Is there somewhere you can go to just be you, where you can breathe and be present? I'm still trying to find and create mine, and I invite you to walk this journey with me as we grow and find a way to swim up to shore, take a couple of breaths, and then head back into the raging waters.

Feel free to like, and share this post. I'd also love to hear your own takes on the quote, what stood out for you, what it means to you etc. If you haven't read my previous posts, click on one below. As always, remember to stay intentional and see you next time (I promise it will be sooner than a year).