Sacred Fatigue: The Beauty of Being Fully Alive

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That bone-deep tiredness after a weekend filled with surprise visits, thunderstorms, community gatherings, and late-night shifts isn't something to push past—it's something to honor. When fatigue comes from creating memories, from being truly present in your life, it's serving a different purpose than the exhaustion that stems from stress or obligation.

Many of us have forgotten how to distinguish between these different types of tiredness. We carry stress psychosomatically, our bodies responding to thought patterns about control and perfectionism that we've internalized. We convince ourselves that if we can just be perfect enough, handle everything perfectly, we'll finally be safe. But that pressure adds up, flooding our system with cortisol and disconnecting us from the natural rhythms of rest and activity.

The real question isn't whether you're tired—it's whether your fatigue is evidence of a life you actually want to be living. Are your days nourishing you? Are your actions investing in the kind of experiences that fill you up, or are they draining what little energy remains? Manifestation isn't about escaping discomfort; it's about alignment. Freedom doesn't always require external changes—it begins with the pause, that moment when you interrupt the automatic patterns and check in with yourself honestly. You're allowed to slow down. You're safe to take life at your own pace, to release what's rooted in fear, to stop sprinting toward some imagined finish line of enough-ness.

Take a moment today to place one hand on your heart, the other on your belly, and remind your body: "We are here. We are safe. We are listening." Because time is a tool, not a toy—and it's up to each of us to use it wisely.

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Music by NaturesEye

Opening Music "Whip" by kontraa
Opening music Prazkhanal
Opening music SoulProdMusic
Meditation music Saavane

Episode Transcript

NatNat (00:04):
Hey love, welcome back to the Lift when Self podcast.
I'm your host, nat Nat.
If this is your first time here, welcome home.
And if you're returning, thankyou for being on this journey
with me.
If this podcast supports you,please like, share and leave a
review.
It helps more people find thisspace and it lets me know it's

(00:25):
landing where it's meant to.
Now it's Tuesday, the day aftera long weekend, and if you're
anything like me, you might befeeling that tiredness in your
muscles, in your bones, thatlittle bit of grogginess in your
throat, as you can hear in myvoice.
It's not the draining kind,though Sure, there might be a

(00:45):
little brain fog, but there'salso a sense of alertness
underneath it.
This is a different kind oftired, the kind that comes from
creating memories, fromconnecting, from being in your
body, from actually living, andthat kind of living that's a
form of rest too, because restisn't always about lying down.

(01:07):
Sometimes it's dancing,laughing, walking, choosing
yourself, doing what you wantedto do and letting your nervous
system soak it all in, and thatwas this weekend for me.
It's been a long time since Ifelt that kind of momentum of go
, go, go.
My cousin came for a surprisevisit we took in Dale on Friday

(01:28):
night and we laughed.
Saturday morning we went forbreakfast and connected with my
oldest, javon.
Then in the afternoon we hit upUrban Fresh Organic Farm.
Big love to Paula and Chadwickfor hosting such a beautiful
event, reminding us as Caribbeanpeople, as community, that we
can frolic freely on land, eatorganically and just be at ease

(01:51):
and listen.
They'll have their organic eggsout in August, so keep an eye
out.
Later I went to Wakefield and ifanyone else was on the Quebec
side, you felt that thunderstorm.
We had to pull over on the sideof the road.
It was a little unnerving,there was stress.
Yet we made it through it.
Saturday night bartending.
Sunday night, bartending again,and, yes, there were moments

(02:14):
where my body wanted to rest.
Yet I said keep going, let'slive this fully.
Monday morning I met up withsome ladies for breakfast and by
Monday night I finallysurrendered to sleep.
Early bed, full heart, and itreminded me time is a currency,
it's an investment, it's a toola lot of us forget we even have.

(02:35):
I'm actually walking the walkthat I talk, and just because
you're feeling tired doesn'tmean it's bad.
The real question is is thisfatigue nourishing me?
Is this tiredness evidence of alife I actually want to be
living, because the body needsmovement, the soul needs
connection.
This weekend I gave myself allof that and it's left me full.

(02:59):
The biggest thing is I spenttime and connected with people
that fill me up, that feel safe,that feel expansive.
So if you're feeling a littleheavy today, be gentle.
You just carried somethingbeautiful.
And if you can't trace yourfatigue back to joy, laughter or
aliveness, that might be aninvitation, a quiet nudge to ask

(03:23):
yourself yourself am I creatinga life I want to be tired from?
Because we all carry stress, buta lot of it is psychosomatic.
Yes, that's a big word.
Stress that lives in the bodybecause of our thoughts.
We keep spinning, because wecarry stress, but a lot of it is
called psychosomatic.
I know it's a big word.

(03:43):
Stress that lives in the bodybecause of thoughts we keep
spinning, because we try tocontrol everything and we can't.
We play these Jedi mind trickson ourselves, convincing our
nervous system that we're incharge of things that were never
ours to hold, or that wonderfulperfectionism if I'm perfect,

(04:04):
if everything's perfect, thenI'm safe, which we all know is
false.
And that pressure it adds up.
It's called cortisol.
So today I just want to meet youwhere you are, be kind to
yourself, be honest about howyou're spending your time.
Are your days nourishing you?
Are your actions investing inthe life you want or just

(04:28):
draining what's left?
Yes, many of us are returningto responsibilities we'd rather
not face Hello, alarm clockwaking up the twins for school
schedule and hello podcastrecording.
The system was built that way.
The matrix is real, but thatdoesn't mean you have to carry
it all so heavily.

(04:48):
You can let go of what's rootedin fear.
You can release theperfectionism.
You can stop sprinting,especially if you check in with
your body right now.
You'll probably notice thetightness, the impulsivity, the
drive to go faster, maybe evenstart listening to those
thoughts.

(05:08):
But you're allowed to slow down.
You're safe to take it at yourpace.
And speaking of pace, let's takea moment to meet ourselves.
Let's take a mindful moment, ifit's safe to do so, gently
close your eyes, let your breathmove in and out through your

(05:30):
nose, naturally.
No need to force anything, noneed to control, just observe,
let your breath guide yourawareness into your body.
There may be sensations warmth,tightness, tingling, resistance

(05:50):
.
Let them surface.
You're safe to feel.
You're safe to let go,surrender the need to control,
release the need to resist andjust be, if it helps.
Place one hand on your heartand the other on your belly.

(06:13):
Let your body know we are here,we are safe, we are listening.
Take a breath and meet thoseknots in your body and just
begin to unknot, meet thoseclenches and gently soften and

(06:36):
unclench, feel the pressurelifting, feel the body opening
up.
Let's take three slow breathstogether gently inhale, hold and

(06:59):
let it all out through yourmouth.
And let it all out through yourmouth.
Another breath in Hold it, letit out all through your mouth.
Another in Hold, let it all out.

(07:33):
And when you're ready, at yourown time, your own pace, you're
going to open your eyes and staywith that softness, stay with
your breath.
Now here's the thing Somepeople think manifesting means
life becomes easy, thateverything just flows
effortlessly.
But that's not real life.
Manifestation is alignment, notescape.

(07:54):
It's about being true toyourself, not bypassing
discomfort.
And while material things canfeel great, they also carry
weight, responsibility, andsometimes we want them to
support an identity we thinkwill make us feel safe.
But often we're more depletedwhen we get there.
So ask yourself today where canI give myself a little more

(08:17):
freedom?
What can I release?
Freedom isn't always out there.
It begins within, with yourmindset, your nervous system,
your choices, your perception,your environment, the people you
surround yourself with.
You don't have to perform yourway into peace, you just need to
return to it.

(08:38):
And many of us forget thatwe've drifted from peace, swept
up in fear, control and survivaland, most of all, blaming
others.
But it's not your fault.
That's what your nervous systemis trained to do.
Freedom begins with the pause,the interruption, the honest
internal check-in.

(08:58):
That's how you build a lifethat feels more open.
So until next time, be kind toyourself, stay soft and keep
lifting oneself.
And please remember time is atool, not a toy.
Use it wisely.