From Depletion to Discovery

There was a moment over the weekend, when I thought, “I’m feeling depleted.”

I’m not sure what brought this on specifically, except I suspect it’s a convergence of a number of aspects. Work has been full lately, though very rewarding. Beyond this, I know we’re all still emerging from a remarkably difficult year and trying to return to some sense of normalcy. We’re feeling that stress. And even good developments take energy.

It definitely makes sense to hit a wall from time to time with the thought, “I’m feeling depleted.”

One of the things that replenishes me most is stepping outside into nature. I feel differently almost immediately. I need to slow down, explore, and notice my surroundings. I love to discover beautiful details. I’m elated when I find pathways I didn’t know about previously. I love to cover new ground and see what I can find.

I need a sense of discovery.

I am an extrovert to my core, but while I’m trying to rebuild an in-person sense of a social life, I’m realizing that it takes energy to plan this and make it happen. We’re not in practice of having a collective economy of invitations flowing back and forth. This takes energy to re-organize.

During the pandemic, I flexed my introversion muscle too, and that grew in meaningful ways. Among other things, I discovered that I feel that internal sense of connection and kinship simply by being outside. I enjoy time to myself as I discover details, and extroverted as I am (I can’t put that away entirely) I take photos and occasionally send them to loved ones.

I need a sense of discovery. It does my depletion of energy a world of good.

How about you? What do you need?

–Renee Roederer

Here are flowers and tree roots that I discovered this weekend.