Are You Feeling Restless?

March 17, 2023laurenemiller7@gmail.com

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Feeling Restless?

One of the BIG fuels of stress isrestlessness: Being unable to relax because of anxiety or boredom.

Anxiety:worry over uncertain outcomes.

Boredom:a lack of interest in what you are doing in life.

Can you relate? Which is it? Anxiety or boredom? Or is it both?

Do you have a lack of interest in what you are doing?

Are you worried about uncertain outcomes?

Perhaps you worry over not being interested in what you are doing? A double hit for the perfect stress storm.

Either boredom and anxiety produce a restless nature which slows you down and will stress you out…and the people around you.

Have you ever been in the presence of a bored human being?

Nothing flatlines a room quicker than a lack of interest in life, you or the project at hand.

Anxiety is a subjective experience. What causes you to worry may not cause me to worry, and yet, the experience of anxiety in one human being can actually trigger anxiety in another human being. WOW! Studies reveal that when you are in a state of anxious thoughts: I’m not ok, I can’t handle this situation, fear of the future, regrets from the past you actually stimulate the stress receptors in the brain of the receivers of your stressed out behavior.

This week observe that little phenomenon when you are in a group of people and one or more of those human beings are anxious about something. Watch how quickly that one emotion creates a ripple effect of restlessness in the group.

In college I took Western and Eastern Religion courses. For one of my classes I was required to read a little book that packed a HUGE punch in my own journey with God: The Confessions of St. Augustine.

St. Augustine was well acquainted with the ways of the world and played the worldly games until he encountered God. I am confident that anyone who reads this little book can’t help but mix their own stories of worldly entrapments with St. Augustine’s journey.

“My soul is restless Lord, until it rests in you.” Augustine’s solution to restlessness in life was to rest in God. It’s almost as if God wired human beings with an alarm system of restlessness. Perhaps you have already experienced this: when you seek thrills and contentment outside of yourself, stress, anxiety, boredom and ultimately a restless soul is what you get. When you anchor your sense of confidence in your creator, contentment is the ramification.

When I went through the experience of seeing myself bald and breast-less in the mirror, I purposely covered the mirrors (exterior feedback) until I anchored my identity in God. When the sheets came down after 3 days, I had upped my ability to remember whose I was from the inside out so much so that the mirror did not rob my soul of its true identity.

What is it for you today? What is fueling a state of anxiety or boredom? Robbing you of the ability to relax into the season of life you are walking through with confidence that God is weaving it all together for your ultimate good as you up your trust factor.

Action Steps:

What if you shifted your relationship with restlessness this week? Look at it as an opportunity to go inside and rest in God. Ask questions for clarity.

Where in my life do I feel a lack of interest? What’s that about?

Is my relationship with God where I want it to be?

Am I looking outside of myself for a sense of purpose that can only be found within?

What steps will I commit to this week to carve out an hour for reflection on my own inner restlessness? To give myself the space to respond to the restlessness (anxiety and boredom) in a way that will open the door for more peace and contentment in my relationship with the One who created me and has a purpose for my life beyond restlessness.

“My soul is restless Lord, until it rests in you.” St Augustine.

What comes up for you when you read the above quote?

Augustine lost his identity in the world around him, his boredom and continually quest for more shiny objects and trinkets in the world left him empty handed when it came to the inner peace and contentment he deeply desired.

Feeling Bored? Anxious? RESTLESS? This is an incredible opportunity for you to PAUSE and go within your interior world, before you jump into your next season and resurrect your sense of purpose and meaning from a place that does not rise and fall depending upon how the world responds or does not respond.

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