If I had to choose a word that accompanied my weekend, I might choose Chaos.

What had been a long looked forward to weekend with people I hold very dear to my heart, in a city I adore, quickly became a weekend bookended by delayed, cancelled and diverted flights, long queues, misinformation, frustrated travellers and late nights.

Exhausted tears rushed to my eyes as homebound and 30,000 feet in the air we were informed that our plane wasn’t going to land at our destination but return to where it came from. My head throbbed as I burdened myself with the thought of the responsibilities I would, unintentionally, be neglecting by not arriving. My soul withered as I stood in line anticipating another late night paired with a pre-dawn start in order to reach all the expectations I had put on my shoulders.

But as it became clear that I would not be making it back home during work hours, I was forced to breathe. To accept that I needed rest and allow myself to take it.

So, today, that’s what I’m doing. Slowing down. I even watched the train I was supposed to be on trundle past me just to continue enjoying the peace of the train station made quiet by the hush of midday in the suburbs.

Now, if you’re like me, maybe you forget to stop. Maybe you think your world will implode if you don’t tick every box or meet all your self-imposed expectations.

The truth is, it won’t.

But. It will. If you continue to push yourself to the precipice of breaking. It will if you don’t learn to listen to your exhaustion and know when to ignore the lies it tells about your fears and insecurities.

I know it’s hard to believe the truth when it seems easier to collapse into the lies – but chaos will always be a companion in this life and learning to step back, breathe and rest will always lessen the burden of its friendship.