It can be difficult to read when we’re tired, when we’re about to fall asleep and can barely finish the next sentence. Even though the chapter ends in one page, we press forward despite our tired eyes and yawns, hoping that we have just enough energy left to finish the last couple of paragraphs.
It’s kind of like finishing a race when we’re all out of breath. Making it there seems like an impossible task, and as our legs and arms begin to feel heavier with each step, we press forward, one step at a time, all the while our bodies are shutting down. Once we make it to the finish line, instead of celebrating, we keel over and pant from exhaustion, relieved that it’s over.
When the body is at the point of exhaustion, it’s telling us to stop and rest. But in some cases, the mind wants to quell it while telling us to do more. And at those moments, it’s like the mind and body are becoming two, disconnecting, becoming unharmonious, all the while pulling in opposite directions. The mind says “keep going,” while the body says “no, stop and rest.”
Despite our tiredness, we sometimes press forward until we reach the finish line, whether that’s the end of a chapter, staying up late to study, staying up late to finish work, wrapping up a DIY project, etc. But experience shows that when we press forward beyond the limits of fatigue, beyond what can be deemed as burn out, it’s possible for us to make mistakes, to overlook details, or to even stop and quit when we’re so close to the finish line.
Knowing when to press forward and when to stop is a double-edged sword. The mind always see the impossible as possible, whereas the body knows it when it senses it. But deciding what to do at the crossroads isn’t so much a matter of will but of knowing how far our limits can take us.
Fallton Havenstonne 