One day this week, I woke up so sick. It took me by surprise, but I’m not entirely sure why it did. I had been going far too fast in a stretch of time that was also far too overscheduled. I hit a wall. My body quite literally found a way to make me stop.
So I did something I very rarely do. I canceled everything. And I mean everything. I canceled a long series of meetings for the rest of the week and my role in an Ash Wednesday Service. The last part made total sense because I wouldn’t want to get others sick, but usually, I would find ways to push through the virtual meetings. Not this time.
This is because I remembered something that a colleague of mine had posted recently on social media. Her message was,
We don’t need to be so central, because we are, actually, not truly pivotal to all things under way. We can do things collectively. We can slow things down. A variety of people can lead. It’s okay if the ground lies fallow for a while. It’s good to choose ease. It’s wise to trust and lean on others.
In my case, so many people picked up roles in those meetings and the service I was going to lead. And some of those meetings just didn’t need to happen.
I mention all of this, not because it’s some big, important story — it’s not; we all get sick, and we all need time — but if you need to slow down, for a similar reason or any reason at all, I want to play the same role my colleague did for me earlier in the week.
It’s okay to do so. In fact, it’s probably good to do so.
— Renee Roederer
Smuggling Grace 