Taking A Break From Life...

"Sometimes it's important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it's essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow."

~Douglas Pagels

Last week, while going through Monday’s headlines, I stumbled on this article about Virgil Abloh; Off-White founder and men’s artistic director at Louis Vuitton. It stated that he was going to take a few months off. Ummmm okay….

Additionally, they quoted him saying, from his interview with Vogue, “I was just tired, so I went to the doctor…, ultimately everything is fine but this pace I’ve pushed my body, is not good for my health”… And all I could think at that moment was, “What type of rich, privileged shit this is?!” Right away, I blocked myself from reading the rest of the article as I knew it would be a narrative on how hard he works, justifications on how he deserves to take a break and frankly I wasn’t here for it!

From the age of 20 until now, I have not been without a job, not even for a day. As a matter a fact, in my younger days, I juggled more than 3 employments at a time. From the time I had my first child, all my so called “benefits” became the family benefits! My days off, sick days, personal days and vacation days were all set aside for the “what ifs” of parenting. What if my child is sick, what if there is an issue with day care, what if school is closed, what if… and what if???

God knows I have been tired.

God knows I’ve cried myself to sleep thinking of having to get up the following day to go to work.

God knowssssss I’ve woken up crying because I wished I didn’t have to get out of my bed.

But I did it… I still do it because I have no choice. Needless to say, I didn’t feel sympathetic.

Later on that day, going through my IG, I saw the announcement of Jared Wilson’s death by suicide… He was a pastor and he was 30 years old…

This made me pause and think of Virgil Abloh. All of a sudden, all I could think about was, where is my compassion? Where is my empathy and concern about someone’s obvious hardship? His circumstances shouldn’t be the same or ones that I needed to understand and relate to for me to legitimize them. Why wasn’t I commending him for reading the warning signs in his life and making the decision that was right for him?

My Sunday Quote of this week was all about growth and open-mindedness. In introducing my quote I said, “Life is about accepting what is certain; today may not be tomorrow. Growth is the willingness to accept what you know is ever evolving. And being okay with both…”

There are so many people out there living an overwhelming lifestyle, sustained by long working days, increase of responsibilities and stress. A lifestyle designed and truly governed by the outside world which inherently takes control and robs us from the duty to decide the types of lives we want to lead and create for ourselves. We let circumstances and others design our lives for us as if they would consider the healthy median required to maintain a well-balanced mental and physical life. After all, don’t we have to be responsible for setting and enforcing the boundaries that we want in our lives?  

You cannot take a break from life. Life is constant. Life is a progression, you can’t halt it, but what you can do is be gentle to yourself and allow yourself to slow down, so life just don’t happen to you. Put a stop to the autopilot mode you are on, before you know it you will not even remember your purpose, or the reasons why you wake up every morning.

Slowing down and needing to step down, stepping away is not about being lazy or privileged, it is about being spirited and self-aware. It takes courage to stop doing all that you know, all that sustains – fully or partially – your lifestyle and trust that everything will work out fine. It simply allows you to revive yourself emotionally, physically and spiritually.

So kudos to Virgil Abloh and all those who are able to break away despite the unknown. While our circumstances will never be alike, it does take the same amount of courage to give in and let God.

In retrospect, my original reaction was one of jealousy. I am taking notes, hoping that if I get to THAT point of in my life, I am able to make the right decision and those around me will understand and support.

Cheers to a healthy life balance and always remember that I love you – Smooches!