Take A Break

While drinking my first mug of tea this morning, I read a book about Navy SEALs--No Easy Day, by Matt Bissonnette. I was about 100 pages in when reading about military culture and warfare started to distress me. I wasn't full-on triggered, but I am sensitive to violence, and the book definitely disturbed me. I got the jitters. So I said to myself, "It's time to take a break."

I set No Easy Day aside, and went to stand in front of my family's framed copy of my favorite poem: "The Lake Isle of Innisfree", by William Butler Yeats. I read the lines out loud. When I finished, I forced myself to take a deep, slow breath. Exhaling seemed to expel some of my stress; I noted that I felt a little calmer.

It's a good idea to take a break sometimes.