Observing the beautiful patterns created by the smoke of this incense stick I thought of two things: 1/ the smoke coming out of the cat’s shisha in Alice in Wonderland; 2/ the energy that goes up in smoke when we are pushing ourselves too hard. Whilst it’s healthy to keep moving it’s also important to take time to slow down, especially in winter. When is the last time you took half a day to do nothing? Took the time to lay in bed for a while, enjoying the cosy duvet, maybe had a bath, and/or found a way to meditate (sitting down and staring at the emptiness or at a candle, taking a gentle slow walk by yourself,…) or simply did nothing? As Lao Tsu said “Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing”. The issue is when we push ourselves mindlessly, although our activities can come from the best intention, our body is usually the one to give up or kick up a tantrum by failing us: illness, aches, strains… you name it. So save yourself the frustrating message from your body (trust me!) and plan in some downtime time. And if you’ve already received that message from your body then accept it, don’t fight it and indulge in the mandatory rest!