The Struggle Bus

Sometimes the most courageous choice is
stepping off the struggle bus and sitting quietly
​ with yourself for a while.
~Robin Rosenstiel

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Have you noticed how fast everything seems to be moving lately?

The world feels louder. Faster. More demanding.

Our calendars fill with work obligations, family obligations, friend obligations, volunteer obligations, and a never-ending stream of notifications reminding us of all the things we should be doing.

Before we know it, we're running from one responsibility to the next, trying to keep all the plates spinning.

And somewhere along the way, we lose ourselves.

Recently, I've found myself thinking about what I affectionately call...
"The Struggle Bus."

You know the one.

It's the bus we board when we believe we have to do it all.

The bus where everyone else's needs get a reserved seat while our own needs are left standing in the aisle.

The bus where we tell ourselves we'll rest later, create later, dream later, and take care of ourselves later.

The problem is that later rarely comes.

Many of us were raised with the belief that being a good person meant putting everyone else's needs before our own. We learned to be dependable, helpful, accommodating, and available.

While these qualities can be beautiful gifts, they can also become exhausting patterns.

At some point, we begin carrying responsibilities that were never ours to carry.

We say yes when we mean no.

We overextend ourselves because we don't want to disappoint anyone.

We become so focused on caring for everyone else that we stop listening to what we need.

Perhaps this isn't a time to learn how to juggle more.

Perhaps this is a time to put some things down.

Perhaps the old pattern of self-sacrifice has reached its expiration date.

What if taking a day for yourself wasn't selfish?

What if canceling plans because you need rest wasn't something that required justification?

What if spending an afternoon alone reading, gardening, creating art, taking a nap, or simply staring out the window was exactly what your soul needed?

Sometimes the bravest thing we can do is step off the struggle bus.

Not forever.

Just long enough to remember who we are beneath all the obligations.

To breathe.

To listen.

To reconnect with ourselves.

The world will continue spinning.

The emails will still be there tomorrow.

The laundry can wait.

The to-do list will never truly be finished.

But your well-being matters now.

Your creativity matters now.

Your peace matters now.

This week, I invite you to ask yourself:

• Where am I carrying more than I need to carry?
• What obligation am I ready to release?
• What would it look like to give myself permission to simply be?

Maybe the most productive thing you do this week is nothing at all.

Maybe that's exactly the medicine you need.

With Moxie,

Robin

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ORACLE CARD OF THE WEEK

Reflection Questions
• Where in my life am I rushing without questioning why?
• What would happen if I gave myself permission to rest?
• Which obligations truly belong to me, and which am I carrying out of habit?
• What is my soul asking for right now?
• If I stepped off the struggle bus today, what would I do instead?