You know how sometimes you just know what you need inside, but you ignore it anyway? Like when you’re absolutely exhausted but you stay up scrolling, or when your body is screaming for a break but you keep saying yes to more things?
I learned many years ago that there’s a word for this – it’s called prajnaparadha. It’s Sanskrit for “overriding your own wisdom.” When I first heard it, I felt like I’d won the lottery. Finally, a word for what my inner voice had been trying to tell me forever.
The thing is, I’ve been watching myself and so many people I care about, maybe you too, running on empty. Feeling tired even after sleeping. Minds racing at night. Just exhausted in our bones. And what breaks my heart is that we’ve all been taught this is normal, or that we just need to push through it.
But I couldn’t push through anymore. I knew that every time I did, I was hurting myself. So I listened and retaught myself how to address the profound weariness that had been screaming for my attention for so long.
Here’s what I’m trying to wrap my head around: exhaustion isn’t normal. What if our bodies have been trying to tell us something vital, and we’re ignoring it because we’ve all been trained to? What if listening to our exhaustion isn’t just a way to feel better, but actually to save our lives?
Recently, I had Lyme Disease come back. I was at my naturopath’s office, and she was testing me to see how severe it was. She asked if I had any symptoms. I told her I’d been really tired, like my body was working so hard to keep up.
She said the remedies would help and that listening to my body was the best way to heal. But then I asked her, “What happens when we don’t listen?”
She didn’t hesitate. ‘Then we’re looking at a much more serious situation—one that becomes much harder to fix.'”
Those words stopped me cold. Because isn’t that what most of us? Ignore the signals until they become impossible to ignore?
I wanted to share this with you because I care about you. Not because I think you need fixing, but because sometimes it helps to know someone else sees what you might be going through. Sometimes it helps to know there’s a word for that thing we all do to ourselves.
Your tiredness is real. Your need for rest isn’t weakness. When your body whispers or shouts for care, that’s not something to push past; that’s something to listen to.
I hope you’re being gentle with yourself. I hope you’re hearing whatever your inner wisdom is trying to tell you. And I hope you know that whatever it is, it matters.
You matter so much.
L O V E. ♥️
