Have you heard the phrase, “The graveyard slot” – that hour or so in the early afternoon when business meetings, conferences and everyone else discover the fact that tired people have a natural tendency to nod off after lunch?
How do people respond? Have you, for example, ever been in a meeting where someone says, “Ooooh, lots of you looking tired…. Let’s take half an hour for a nap folks.”
No, me neither. I’ve come across copious coffee drinking, chocolate consumption, glassy stares, standing up, pacing around, desperate propping-up of eyelids … anything to resist the body’s signal to snooze.
My moment of nurture today was going to be a nap. A bit pooped after a night with a few interruptions, I decided not to do more stuff after lunch and took a nap instead. It helped – after half an hour I felt refreshed and started writing this.
But as I wrote, I hesitated…. my cheeky little nap did not quite feel nurturing. Yet it did actively top up my energy, and I definitely remembered writing about that yesterday. Energy topped up.. but not feeling nurtured. Um. So what gives?
What gives was I was sitting there thinking, “Is that it? A nap???!” …. (“Disappointed!!!”)
So my developing theory is:
Nurture feels special for you, it’s a bit of a treat
For me, on this day, the nap felt wise rather than creating something uplifting. It was a sensible bit of self care, like yesterday’s taxi ride, but did not quite register very high on my emerging and personal, “This Is What Nurtures Me” scale.
So, AS WELL, later this afternoon I sat out in the sunshine, writing some happy thank yous in my journal and remembering many friends and colleagues who have shared with me so much laughter, support and unshakable belief in what I’m about during the last few years.
Now THAT made me smile when I came up with the idea, and THAT made me smile out in the sunshine!
They’re all going to get a surprise personal note too… admittedly a bit less of a surprise if they’re actually reading this 😉
Anyway, my conclusion today is:
Nurture makes you smile: Makes you smile on the inside and probably gets you smiling on the outside too.
Smiling … 🙂
Thank you to you all! xx
Daily Nurture 