"Those who can't stop drinking and those who can't stop judging the drinkers are thirsty for the same thing."
🔥Fireside Chat: Hot Springs Reflections
Reader, last month I went dancing with my 88-year-old grandma and a handful of Colombian aunts who once changed my diapers.
(It was my cousin's wedding)
My dad was taking shots of aguardiente with my uncles..
My cousins were dancing to old-school reggaeton..
And I was sipping an alcohol-free piña colada, clocking a few salsa songs with my mom, my aunt and my godmother.
I found myself enjoying a party where alcohol was present for the first time in years...
But what really shocked me was that I was neither indulging..
nor judging.
It may seem small to you, but it was a BIG moment for me..
See..
In my twenties I was the life of the party and the host of some wild after-parties..
Then I swung the other way, became a "holier-than-thou-medicine-man" and didn't party for years, judging everyone who did.
Looking back I see it was the exact same compulsion (and wound)
wearing a different costume.
Not knowing who I was or my value, I found my identity and sense of belonging by being "the party guy"..
Then, not really knowing who I was, or my real value, I found my identity and tribe by being "the medicine man".
potato potato.
Last week at the hot springs I noticed that most driven people relate to rest the exact same way..
Either they binge it..
crash for a whole weekend, scroll for hours and collapse because their tank finally hit zero.
Or they judge it.
"Rest equals laziness.."
Something you MUST earn.
Or even something "weaker people" need.
(Some of us manage both in the same week 😅)
But the binge and the ban are just two sides of the same coin.
Freedom, however, looks (and FEELS) different.
It is resting without guilt..
Working without compulsion.
Dancing when you feel like it, and sitting out a song without needing to justify it to anyone.
Not holy.
Whole.
Present > Prude
And on that note, last week I promised you a photo from my favorite hot springs.. (I went there to celebrate 300+ people attending my recent virtual workshop)
📸: San Vicente Hot Springs.. Don Nico: lukewarm at best.
As I spent hours playing with water, staring at trees and birds, I was reminded that rest is NOT the reward for good work..
It's a pre-requisite of it.
I know it’s only Tuesday, but...
Make the tea.
Put on the movie.
Take the walk with no destination,
and leave your phone behind!
Consider this the universe's reminder that you have permission to rest.
Encouragement, in fact.
🙂
With you on the path,
Nico Canon
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