Since the beginning of spoken word, and probably before, the idea of “life force” has been passed down from generation to generation among all cultures in one way or another. This vital energy is the essence of our verve and well-being. In China it’s “Chi”, in India it’s “Prana”, the Mayans called it “Chu’lel”. Whatever you call it, it is the foundational energy that sustains us. If you’ve not thought about it, I’m sure it sounds wonky and abstract. But, I assure you it’s real, profound, and has a huge effect on our physical health, mental clarity, and spiritual wellness.
This force is all around us all times as well as inside us. It feeds our bodies and minds. The essence of life force supports our physical being as well as mental processes and our emotional stability. When we learn to recognize and feel it, we can create practices to harmonize and work within it to enhance flow. Flow is the ultimate way to live. When we’re in flow, we slow time down and meet the world head on, which increases our overall health and inner balance.
Unfortunately, modernity has grown into a place that attempts to extinguish our life force little by little. Like boiling a frog, if you buy into that metaphor. Modern life moves fast. Chronic stress, overworking, negative social media feeds, an overabundance of unhealthy “foods” crowd the shelves, and time taken for exercise and self care is seen as a luxury at best and selfish at worst. We’re consistently pushed to give without being offered the time top up and replenish ourselves. This all inevitably leads to burnout, chronic fatigue, and a lower capacity to handle life’s challenges gracefully and efficiently.
Life Force is stolen in all types of ways. One is constantly engaging in emotionally charged situation or relationships. Drama. It creates emotional exhaustion that without the proper self care practices will undoubtedly leave us feeling depleted and drained.
Another is physical overexertion. We work long hours without taking our days off and don’t make time for exercise. This causes high inflammation of our bodies and with that, pain. When many of us feel physical pain, we’re then prompted to move even less and the cycle becomes a viscous one.
Then there's the mental fatigue. Constant acute mental stimulation without breaks or any relaxation exhausts our cognitive reserves drastically depleting our mental clarity. Brain fog.
When all of this adds up, we’re in trouble. If we don’t make an active effort to replenish our life force, we’re in danger. Our physical health will suffer with chronic fatigue and weakened immunity leaving us overly susceptible to all sorts of health problems. Chronic fatigue can lead to disrupted sleep patterns which obliviously leaves the door open for another viscous downward spiral and a host of other physical ailments.
Failing to replenish our life force affects us mentally and emotionally by letting anxiety and depression creep in. We can become emotionally flammable hindering our ability to manage even the smallest of stressors. Our emotional equilibrium will be thrown completely out of whack as we become more and more inconsistent with our moods. Finally, there is our spiritual well being, whatever that may be for you. Failing to replenish our life force energy will lead to self non congruence and disconnection from ourselves and the world around us.
All is not lost! There are many ways we can avoid the worst of everything written above. We can choose practices that preserve our our life force and even top them off. Mindfulness meditation is a simple one. It calms the mind and puts us in the “Now”, reducing stress while enhancing the stream of life force through the body and mind.
Have I mentioned diet, exercise, and sleep in this series? Regularly making healthy lifestyle choices literally changes our bodily makeup. We are indeed what we eat. Being physically strong is the fountain of youth. Adequate sleep is “defragging” our hard drive optimizing memory and recall. making us happy and enjoyable to be around.
While there is no way to completely avoid the stressors of life, especially the life a Social Work Professional, we can create an environment to lessen the blow. We can take on activities that we enjoy, that promote relaxation, that revitalize us. Hobbies and creating art. Nature walks and prayer. Therapeutic float tanks and long runs. Lifting heavy weights and eating steak. Whatever you find that will top off your energy tank is worth doing. It is a necessity if we are to lead a balanced, healthy, and fulfilling life. It is a necessity if we are to serve our clients to best of our abilities. Self care is not selfish. Your life force is not infinite. You cannot pour from an empty cup.
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