Sacred Fatigue: The Beauty of Being Fully Alive

That bone-deep tiredness after a weekend filled with surprise visits, thunderstorms, community gatherings, and late-night shifts isn't something to push past—it's something to honor. When fatigue comes from creating memories, from being truly present in your life, it's serving a different purpose than the exhaustion that stems from stress or obligation.

Many of us have forgotten how to distinguish between these different types of tiredness. We carry stress psychosomatically, our bodies responding to thought patterns about control and perfectionism that we've internalized. We convince ourselves that if we can just be perfect enough, handle everything perfectly, we'll finally be safe. But that pressure adds up, flooding our system with cortisol and disconnecting us from the natural rhythms of rest and activity.

The real question isn't whether you're tired—it's whether your fatigue is evidence of a life you actually want to be living. Are your days nourishing you? Are your actions investing in the kind of experiences that fill you up, or are they draining what little energy remains? Manifestation isn't about escaping discomfort; it's about alignment. Freedom doesn't always require external changes—it begins with the pause, that moment when you interrupt the automatic patterns and check in with yourself honestly. You're allowed to slow down. You're safe to take life at your own pace, to release what's rooted in fear, to stop sprinting toward some imagined finish line of enough-ness.

Take a moment today to place one hand on your heart, the other on your belly, and remind your body: "We are here. We are safe. We are listening." Because time is a tool, not a toy—and it's up to each of us to use it wisely.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome and Weekend Reflections
• 2:42 The Different Kind of Tiredness
• 4:49 Is Your Fatigue Nourishing You?
• 5:32 Mindful Moment Practice
• 7:54 Manifestation and Finding Freedom Within

Transcript

NatNat: 0:04

Hey love, welcome back to the Lift when Self podcast. I'm your host, nat Nat. If this is your first time here, welcome home. And if you're returning, thank you for being on this journey with me. If this podcast supports you, please like, share and leave a review. It helps more people find this space and it lets me know it's landing where it's meant to.

NatNat: 0:28

Now it's Tuesday, the day after a long weekend, and if you're anything like me, you might be feeling that tiredness in your muscles, in your bones, that little bit of grogginess in your throat, as you can hear in my voice. It's not the draining kind, though Sure, there might be a little brain fog, but there's also a sense of alertness underneath it. This is a different kind of tired, the kind that comes from creating memories, from connecting, from being in your body, from actually living, and that kind of living that's a form of rest too, because rest isn't always about lying down. Sometimes it's dancing, laughing, walking, choosing yourself, doing what you wanted to do and letting your nervous system soak it all in, and that was this weekend for me. It's been a long time since I felt that kind of momentum of go, go, go. My cousin came for a surprise visit we took in Dale on Friday night and we laughed. Saturday morning we went for breakfast and connected with my oldest, javon. Then in the afternoon we hit up Urban Fresh Organic Farm. Big love to Paula and Chadwick for hosting such a beautiful event, reminding us as Caribbean people, as community, that we can frolic freely on land, eat organically and just be at ease and listen. They'll have their organic eggs out in August, so keep an eye out.

NatNat: 1:56

Later I went to Wakefield and if anyone else was on the Quebec side, you felt that thunderstorm. We had to pull over on the side of the road. It was a little unnerving, there was stress. Yet we made it through it. Saturday night bartending. Sunday night, bartending again, and, yes, there were moments where my body wanted to rest. Yet I said keep going, let's live this fully.

NatNat: 2:20

Monday morning I met up with some ladies for breakfast and by Monday night I finally surrendered to sleep. Early bed, full heart, and it reminded me time is a currency, it's an investment, it's a tool a lot of us forget we even have. I'm actually walking the walk that I talk, and just because you're feeling tired doesn't mean it's bad. The real question is is this fatigue nourishing me? Is this tiredness evidence of a life I actually want to be living, because the body needs movement, the soul needs connection. This weekend I gave myself all of that and it's left me full. The biggest thing is I spent time and connected with people that fill me up, that feel safe, that feel expansive. So if you're feeling a little heavy today, be gentle. You just carried something beautiful. And if you can't trace your fatigue back to joy, laughter or aliveness, that might be an invitation, a quiet nudge to ask yourself yourself am I creating a life I want to be tired from?

NatNat: 3:28

Because we all carry stress, but a lot of it is psychosomatic. Yes, that's a big word. Stress that lives in the body because of our thoughts. We keep spinning, because we carry stress, but a lot of it is called psychosomatic. I know it's a big word. Stress that lives in the body because of thoughts we keep spinning, because we try to control everything and we can't. We play these Jedi mind tricks on ourselves, convincing our nervous system that we're in charge of things that were never ours to hold, or that wonderful perfectionism if I'm perfect, if everything's perfect, then I'm safe, which we all know is false. And that pressure it adds up. It's called cortisol.

NatNat: 4:14

So today I just want to meet you where you are, be kind to yourself, be honest about how you're spending your time. Are your days nourishing you? Are your actions investing in the life you want or just draining what's left? Yes, many of us are returning to responsibilities we'd rather not face Hello, alarm clock waking up the twins for school schedule and hello podcast recording. The system was built that way. The matrix is real, but that doesn't mean you have to carry it all so heavily. You can let go of what's rooted in fear. You can release the perfectionism. You can stop sprinting, especially if you check in with your body right now. You'll probably notice the tightness, the impulsivity, the drive to go faster, maybe even start listening to those thoughts. But you're allowed to slow down. You're safe to take it at your pace.

NatNat: 5:16

And speaking of pace, let's take a moment to meet ourselves. Let's take a mindful moment, if it's safe to do so, gently close your eyes, let your breath move in and out through your nose, naturally. No need to force anything, no need to control, just observe, let your breath guide your awareness into your body. There may be sensations warmth, tightness, tingling, resistance. Let them surface. You're safe to feel. You're safe to let go, surrender the need to control, release the need to resist and just be, if it helps. Place one hand on your heart and the other on your belly. Let your body know we are here, we are safe, we are listening. Take a breath and meet those knots in your body and just begin to unknot, meet those clenches and gently soften and unclench, feel the pressure lifting, feel the body opening up. Let's take three slow breaths together gently inhale, hold and let it all out through your mouth. And let it all out through your mouth. Another breath in Hold it, let it out all through your mouth. Another in Hold, let it all out. And when you're ready, at your own time, your own pace, you're going to open your eyes and stay with that softness, stay with your breath. Now here's the thing Some people think manifesting means life becomes easy, that everything just flows effortlessly.

NatNat: 7:49

But that's not real life. Manifestation is alignment, not escape. It's about being true to yourself, not bypassing discomfort. And while material things can feel great, they also carry weight, responsibility, and sometimes we want them to support an identity we think will make us feel safe. But often we're more depleted when we get there.

NatNat: 8:14

So ask yourself today where can I give myself a little more freedom? What can I release? Freedom isn't always out there. It begins within, with your mindset, your nervous system, your choices, your perception, your environment, the people you surround yourself with. You don't have to perform your way into peace, you just need to return to it. And many of us forget that we've drifted from peace, swept up in fear, control and survival and, most of all, blaming others. But it's not your fault. That's what your nervous system is trained to do. Freedom begins with the pause, the interruption, the honest internal check-in. That's how you build a life that feels more open. So until next time, be kind to yourself, stay soft and keep lifting oneself. And please remember time is a tool, not a toy. Use it wisely.