Grateful, Blessed and Still Tired

by Rev. Sheri Spiritual teacher, writer, and founder of Angel Messenger

This weekend, I completed a big event that had required weeks of preparation, decisions, creativity and physical work. One of the largest things on my plate has finally been lifted away.

I am grateful for the experience. I am grateful that I was able to participate, share my work and connect with others. Whatever the final results may have been, simply reaching the other side of something that required so much from me is worth acknowledging.

And yet, my plate is not empty.

There are still family celebrations to plan, personal arrangements to make, work that needs my attention and meaningful moments on the horizon. These are not unhappy things. Many of them are blessings. They are experiences I genuinely want to have and people I genuinely want to care for.

But good stress is still stress.

We sometimes act as though we are only allowed to feel overwhelmed when something is wrong. If our lives are filled with celebrations, opportunities, meaningful work or people we love, we may believe we should feel nothing but gratitude.

So when exhaustion appears, we question ourselves.

Why am I so tired when these are good things?

Why do I feel overwhelmed when I have so much to be thankful for?

Shouldn’t I be enjoying every moment?

Perhaps you have asked yourself similar questions.

The truth is that our minds and bodies still expend energy, even when that energy is being given to something beautiful. Planning a celebration requires decisions. Preparing for a long-awaited journey requires organization. Creating something meaningful requires concentration. Caring for the people we love requires emotional energy.

Joyful things can fill our hearts while also filling our calendars.

We can be excited and overwhelmed.

We can feel deeply blessed and desperately need rest.

We can love our lives and still admit that we are tired.

These truths do not contradict one another.

Gratitude does not require us to pretend that everything is easy. It does not ask us to ignore our bodies, silence our feelings or minimize how much we are carrying. Genuine gratitude makes room for honesty.

Sometimes the most honest prayer is not, “Divine, thank you—I can handle it all.”

Sometimes it is, “Divine, thank you for these blessings. Please help me carry them gently.”

When one responsibility comes off our plate, we may be tempted to fill that space immediately. Our minds move toward the next event, the next decision and the next thing that needs to be completed. Before we have even taken a breath, we are mentally carrying the entire week—or perhaps the entire month.

But finishing something matters.

Even if ten more things are waiting, we are allowed to recognize the one thing we completed. We are allowed to pause. We are allowed to feel relief before turning our attention toward what comes next.

The pause may not be long. It may be nothing more than a quiet cup of tea, an afternoon without making decisions or a few moments spent acknowledging, “That was a lot, and I made it through.”

That small pause can still be sacred.

If your life is full of good things right now, but you are struggling to keep up with them, please do not use your blessings as a reason to deny yourself compassion. You do not have to prove that you are grateful by carrying everything effortlessly.

You are not failing because you need rest.

You are not ungrateful because you feel overwhelmed.

You are not unhappy simply because you are tired.

You may simply be a human being living through a very full season—one filled with love, responsibility, anticipation and change.

Let yourself hold all of it honestly. Give thanks for what is beautiful. Acknowledge what is demanding. Celebrate what you have completed. Then ask what truly needs your energy today.

You do not have to carry every future responsibility in this present moment.

If you need a gentle way to quiet your mind during a full season, the “Wildflower Way Coloring eBook” was created to offer peaceful moments of creativity and reflection. You do not have to accomplish anything or find all the answers. You can simply choose a page, breathe and allow yourself to be present for a little while.

Find a Quiet Moment

If you are carrying more than you can hold alone, you are also welcome to leave a prayer request on our Living Prayer Wall of Light. You do not have to explain everything or find the perfect words. Simply allow our community to hold a little of it with you.

I am grateful.

I am blessed.

And I am still tired.

Perhaps, for today, all three truths are allowed to be sacred.

Peace, love and grace,

Rev. Sheri