The Gift of a Pause

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“Sometimes it takes an overwhelming breakdown to have an undeniable breakthrough.” – unknown

I hit a wall this week – a metaphorical one, of course.

It was after getting Miss O back to school for 4th grade and Mr. D in his jump start program for Kindergarten last week, then flying with the kids to Northern California on Friday for my niece’s baby shower, flying back on Sunday, getting Mr. D ready for his first full day of school on Monday, then teaching a webinar on Tuesday.

After all that, I don’t blame my body for needing a break. If only I was smart enough to give it a break without catching a head cold. Well, always something to learn.

Fortunately, one of the last things I did before coming down with this cold was record a podcast with Vicki and my meditation teacher, yoga teacher, massage therapist, and friend, Deirdre Wilcox. I say fortunately, because Deirdre is so incredibly good at putting everything in perspective – even yucky colds. It’s no wonder she’s such a well-regarded wellness educator.

As my teacher and friend for nearly 30 years, Deirdre has shared so much grounded wisdom with me. Of her many gifts, one that I love that is highlighted in this conversation, is her ability to help frame what we are experiencing in biological terms.

So she walks us through the shift from summer to fall in terms of the cues our bodies are receiving. And this leads to a huge a-ha for me about the persistent question I get at the end of summer, “Have we done enough?”

Deirdre suggests some practices that reduce the overwhelm as we move from the freedom and spontaneity of summer to the structure of autumn. One of the things I like most about her approach is that she understands that the things that have a chance to stick are the small ones.

So she suggests some small changes for us to incorporate as we move towards falls. Ways that we can incorporate rituals to thoughtfully move from one season to the next.

And one of my absolute favorites, an invitation to take it all in and notice what we did with our summer before we move on.

I’m confident you’ll love the scenic and beautiful places we explore as we share the power of storytelling.

We know you’ll love it!

Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to it from your computer on Anchor:  Episode 84: Autumnal Shift with Deirdre Wilcox

AND subscribe to our YouTube channel to see a video clip of each story: @SharingtheHeartoftheMatter.

Transcript for this episode: Episode 84 transcript

Links for this Episode:

For more about Deirdre and the incredible work she does: Deirdre Therapeutics (deirdrewilcox.com)

Other episodes featuring Deirdre Wilcox

Episode 27: The Power of the Pause with Deirdre Wilcox

Episode 14: Holding Space with Deirdre Wilcox

Episode 10: The Power of Intuition with Deirdre Wilcox

From the Hosts:

Vicki’s recently released book: Surviving Sue

My book about my beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith

(featured photo from Pexels)

42 thoughts on “The Gift of a Pause”

    1. Thanks for the permission, Brian! Fortunately I feel better today but I was pretty much flat out on Wednesday and Thursday!

      My jaw dropped when Deirdre tied that “have we done enough?” feeling to our agrarian roots. That question is deep in our DNA!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I hate that I constantly ask that of myself. I wrote this week about bingeing Netflix …. I wrote about it because I was mad at myself for feeling mad. It’s ok! We need to learn how to better take care of ourselves! ☺️☺️☺️😎

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  7. On man, that intro quote feels like the story of my life! I’m sorry to hear you’re feeling a bit under the weather, but glad you know just the remedy. Deirdre has so much wisdom, and is such a gift to all of us listening. 😊

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    1. Oh, what an incredible comment about that quote. You’re right – you are the champion of the breakdown/breakthrough!

      Thanks for your kind words. Deirdre has definitely been an incredible guide to me!

      Liked by 1 person

  9. it’s the tail end of the fourth week of school for me. I read your posts and listened to the podcast and it made me think how that’s the rhythm I feel as teacher. A reset every summer since becoming a teacher. When I first started teaching I used a paper planner – first Daytimer before transitioning to the Franklin Planner. When school ended and summer break started I would order the coming year’s planner – it started in July and ended in June. Now I use the electronic version but print pages and this past summer I cleaned out the planner and reset it for the coming school year. It’s easy to feel overloaded, especially when schedules shift I, too felt that when my schedule shifted this week when I took this week and next off to care for my wife who had hip surgery Monday. It’s been a shift… but it is working, sort of. Every day has been better. I am sure that’s what you feel or what I hope you experienced. I guess what I am trying to say is that nature seeks balance or equilibrium and so do we. It’s natural and we feel it. It’s warm and dry here, the cooler nights are coming. Summer’s last gasp. Have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to this week’s sign.

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  10. Yes, being truly in the moment, gratitude for what has happened, and slowly moving forward is the way to go if we try to shortcut the process, our bodies and minds remind us. This was a wonderful podcast and Deirdre a great guest, filled with ancient wisdom

    Liked by 1 person

  12. First: I can’t imagine how amazing it must be to have the same teacher for 30 years. Wow!

    Second, I look forward to learning from this podcast!!

    Third: take care of you! 😊

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Thanks for sharing the podcast episode “Autumnal Shift with Deirdre Wilcox”. I’m looking forward to listening to it and gaining some insights from Deirdre’s wisdom. I appreciate you keeping me in the loop about it.

    Take care!

    http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail Virus-free.www.avg.com http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

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  17. Thank you for this wonderful and calming conversation. You three have a gift.

    There is something about fall isn’t there that just makes us want to slow down. Like literally when the clocks turned September 1, the leaves started to fall en mass in our street.

    I like the idea of taking stock of all we did and enjoying them, like a farmer does their summer harvest. That’s really what makes fall so magical of a season. 💕

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  21. Your back to school schedule sounds exhausting Wynne. And then there was the trip added on top. I’m sure you’re looking forward to new routines and a bit of structure. I don’t miss the back to school days. Though I am looking forward to slow cozy days. Though it’s still summer here and I’m relishing the last few bits of it. Looking forward to listening to Deidre’s wisdom.

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  22. Rest is completely underrated and unappreciated by so many – but when you advocate for self regardless of the peanut gallery on the outside or the itty bitty shitty committee on the inside – we rejuvenate and become soooo much more 💝💝💝lots of love and rest my friend

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