Have you ever had a day or two when nothing seemed to be going right? You were in a bad mood and you were feeling tired. You were trying to do something and it just didn’t seem to work.

In my business, I have to create. I have to create scripts for my speeches and words for my books, CDs and podcasts. I also have to create marketing and promotional materials, not only for myself, but also for those I train. (Ranging from entrepreneurs or those who want to become entrepreneurs, as well as professional speakers and ministers, etc.)

The right side of my brain works a lot. And hopefully, I incorporate my left side, so that what I do appears to be smart as well.

Recently, I hit a wall. Well, I don’t know if I got to him or bumped into him. No creative idea would come out of my head. I stared at a blank page in Microsoft Word … and nothing. He was also short-tempered with others and a real pain.

Obviously I needed a break, but I felt guilty for taking one. I said to myself: “Yes, you need to rest, but you have a lot to do.” Then a voice appeared in my head saying, “Bob keep working … go through the wall. You can do it … force yourself.”

As this internal conversation continued, another voice rose above the chaos … it was a little voice saying these sweet words: “Shut up! The guy needs a break!”

Now, you might be thinking … how many voices in your head do you normally hear, Bob? Well, sometimes I hear quite a few. (Don’t you argue with yourself sometimes? Of course you do.)

That little voice … that soft and peaceful voice was the voice of God, my inner being, telling me that I needed to rest. Penalty fee. I heard it. But that didn’t alleviate the guilt I had for taking time off. In fact, I got angrier at myself for not allowing me to take a break, which made me more irritable and unproductive.

What to do? Well luckily it was close to bedtime and before I go to bed I usually grab some books. I have a tendency to read a lot and a lot of books at the same time. I call it “horizontal research”. (I came up with the idea from Mark Twain and Winston Churchill, two very productive men who wrote and studied in bed.)

On this particular night, I decided that I would seek out some advice on how to take a mental breather. To put it more bluntly, I was seeking permission from others and wanted some facts to “back up” that permission, thus removing my feelings of guilt.

Now, I know asking others for permission is silly, but a lot of people do it. They seek permission to succeed, to buy something or do something, and here I was, asking permission to take it easy. (So ​​dumb.)

I also know that guilt is useless energy. I mean, unless you’ve done something to harm another living creature, most of the things we feel guilty about are ridiculous. (So, he was not only being silly, but also ridiculous. You have to love him!)

Anyway, I picked up a book by one of my favorite authors, Paul Brunton. Brunton is renowned for introducing Eastern philosophy to the West. His ability to synthesize eastern and western approaches, as well as ancient and modern approaches to soul discovery, was astonishing.

The book is called “Perspectives,” and when I opened it, an entire chapter Brunton wrote about retirement and silence stared me in the face. Perfect … the cure I was looking for.

When I started reading, Brunton explained to me that a busy person who doesn’t take breaks is just as bad as a person who is always looking to have fun, neglecting the important parts of life. In fact, these people are two ends of the same suit. You are always busy; the other always plays. To have a fuller life, one must learn to get to the middle of the stick.

That hit home hard. It also reminded me of a man I had met at a party the day before.

This man had told me that he had quit his job and now, all he wanted to do was surf. (Since we all live by the ocean, that’s an easy thing to do.) The man had a wife and a young son, and I asked him what he would do for an income, as well as how he planned to take care of his life. other responsibilities. He said. “I’m tired of working and my wife can now earn the money. All I want to do is play.” I asked him what his wife thought about this and he said she was not thrilled with the idea but thought she would get over it eventually.

I could not avoid it. I asked him how long he had been married, to which he said three years. (I’m sure you’re thinking the same thing as me, which is that if this guy doesn’t change his attitude, he’ll be lucky to make it to his fourth anniversary!)

I learned that this man was not rich. He had not won the lottery or inherited a fortune from a deceased relative. He just wanted to play games and neglect his responsibilities by passing them on to his spouse. It’s not that I wanted a break … it’s more like I wanted to get out of life.

However, was I that different? By always working, I was imposing day-to-day responsibilities on my wife. (We have been married for 15 years and I definitely want to see my 16th anniversary and more.)

In reality, this man and I were two ends of the same suit, we were the “extremes”. Regarding these two extremes, Brunton said that unless we make a change in our behavior, we are forced to change when an emergency or crisis appears. However, at that point, it may be too late to repair any damage.

For the person who must always be busy, you neglect your family obligations. It also creates havoc on your physical and mental health. The result could be a divorce or a heart attack or both. I discovered that I was escaping into a world of “hustle”.

The person who always wants to play may suffer a similar fate. The spouse tires of supporting the family and, unless he is financially burdened, his money runs out and he is ruined. You wreak havoc on your physical health, due to worrying about money and paying bills. This person is not taking a break; they are escaping to the land of Peter Pan … where they will never have to grow up.

The “busy body” must take a break to come together and regroup and become one with its inner power. The “lazy” must take a break from his game and retreat to a higher knowledge that will guide him to a more productive and satisfying life.

What is always needed is time to sit, think, meditate … be at peace. One must learn to be quiet and be one with God. What you do is withdraw yourself from the outer activities of the world, as well as your own inner conflicts.

Brunton wrote: “The needs of external life have the right to be satisfied in their stead, but they do not have the right to dominate all of a person’s attention.” With regard to working or playing too much, Brunton continues: “These are insufficient reasons for a person to go through life without thoughts other than those of bodily needs or financial efforts. There is still room for other types of thinking, for those who they refer to the mysterious, elusive and subtle, which is the divine soul. Years pass and one cannot afford such a waste of time, one cannot afford to be so extroverted at the cost of having lost contact with the inner life ” .

You have to get in touch with that inner life. That inner being, the individual “I am” of the universal “I am”. You do it by taking a break … giving yourself the luxury of communing with God from within.

You don’t need anyone’s permission. You already have permission to do so from the highest power. As Hebrews 4 says: “Therefore there remains a rest for the people of God. For whoever has entered his rest has also ceased from his own works, as God did from his.”

In Isaiah 30 it says: “In the return and the rest you will be saved; in the stillness and in the confidence will be your strength”.

As the Buddha said: “May you dedicate yourself to that stillness of the heart that springs from within you, may you not reject the ecstasy of contemplation; may you look through things, may you be very alone.”

Again, you don’t need anyone’s permission to take a break. You don’t need to feel guilty about taking time off from the chaos and confusion of our world. You must retreat to your inner chamber and close the door. You must take the time to align yourself with your inner power.

Let me conclude with another quote from Brunton: “As one looks, the more one concentrates the attention, the more one sinks into ever more subtle thoughts, honoring not only the sun visible outside, but also the invisible soul in it. inside”.

Honor the power of God. Honor your inner self. Stay still … and take a break.