The Break

“There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.”

-Alan CohenRunning through life at a maddening pace

Sleep-deprived, spending days in a haze

With ample assistance from caffeine

And stress pumping out adrenaline

I sashayed from one project to another

Juggling my career and being a mother

And a liberated woman of this millennium

Who wants the moon and stars, and then some

Caught in the trappings that screamed I’d arrived

In a society where all gestures seemed contrived

When distressed, I tricked myself with the reminder

Compared to many, life to me had been kinder

I had no objective reason to complain

Nothing is ever achieved without pain..

**

I did not see it coming, did not realize

Until I was staring at it with my eyes

A  burnout hurtling towards me 

With amazing speed and ferocity

A crisis I barely managed to avert

From all the stress I barely escaped unhurt

I did not collapse but one thing I knew

Life at this dizzying pace could not continue

For the first time in years, I decided then

I needed a break to explore inner zen.

**

I took a vacation, planned a no-frills getaway

A far cry from my usual instagrammable holiday

Retreated into a quiet village, with little to do

Except heal myself, bond with my son too

Lazy days with no excursions on the schedule

I rediscovered my most powerful tool-

My mind, that had become an automaton

Conforming to social norms and obligations

Now well-rested could think once again

And plan my next steps in a manner more sane

I rediscovered how nourishing sleep could be

For my soul, my mind and my body..

**

Rejuvenated, I came back with a vow

To not exceed stress that my body would allow

How far  this would work remains to be seen

For now, I am less stressed than I had been

The break did wonders for me, that is true

If stress levels climb, I’d do it again too

Life does need a pause button to evaluate

Your priorities, before it is too late!