leadership

Of course you don’t. How could you know?

I don’t even know.

Until, I slow down.

But the more important question is “Does anyone know how tired you are? Do you?”

Three years and four months ago, I went to pick up Chinese take-out. A new business had opened up next to ‘Crazy Wok’. It was a massage and facial franchise called Hand and Stone.

Outside, There was a wheel that people could spin — it was a customized roulette wheel, divided into small pie pieces, each with a unique prize.

Holding my Sesame Chicken and Lo Mein, I spun.

I won 50% off a massage.

I needed it.

I just didn’t know how much.

That ‘what-the-heck’ spin led me to a healer-in-skin. Once a month I lay on the perfectly heated table for 50 minutes, while Toshina finds the knots.

Until she begins, I never realize how tired I am.

And, how good it feels rest.

We don’t talk. (I’m not a ‘massage talker’).

Instead, I think. (And, confidentially, I may drool a little bit).

 Through some of the most stressful periods of my life in the past three years and four months, I have given myself that 50 minutes.

It seems decadent doesn’t it? A massage a month? I had my first massage when I was 28, and probably three before I spun that wheel.

The experience, however, is worth every penny.

I leave ready for the world.

Somehow in those 50 minutes, every knot she loosens, every restorative push/pull/pressure, imbues me with a fresh canvas for the month ahead.

In that stillness, I’ve found answers to questions, made decisions about bold moves, and anchored to a deep appreciation and gratefulness for the experience.

As we seek to bring positive energy to our world, don’t ever diminish our role or the battle: we are warriors.

And, even warriors need rest.

Find something that gives you rest, then commit to it. Put it on your calendar and guard it. And, if it feels a little decadent…even better. You deserve it.

(And, if you happen to live in Ft. Lauderdale, go see Toshina at Hand and Stone on Federal Highway. You won’t be disappointed.)