What the Pause Revealed

Hitting the brakes didn’t spark a grand revelation.
What it gave me… was quiet.

A quietness I hadn’t heard in years.

For the first time in a long time, I craved stillness — not stimulation.
I wanted to be outdoors, to breathe differently, to move slower.
Nature became something I didn’t just enjoy — I needed it.
It was as if being outside confirmed what my body already knew:

I wasn’t caged anymore.

I began to hear things again — birdsong in the morning, the wind in the trees.
And I realised how many mornings I could have listened…
But instead, I’d thrown myself onto the hamster wheel.
For clients. For colleagues. For everyone else.

The pause didn’t just slow me down.
It showed me that I’d changed.
I was older.
Wiser.
More honest.

And I no longer wanted to “power through” — I wanted to feel alive.

I wanted a life that felt aligned — not just efficient.
I wanted my days to feel like mine.