When was the last time you felt so tired — so deeply exhausted — that you were forced to stop? Not because you had planned to, but because your body, your mind, or your spirit could no longer keep up.
Many of us live as though we are on a treadmill, always moving, rarely arriving, scarcely aware of how depleted we have become. Life has grown fast, louder, and demanding, and we often carry its weight without question — until something in you collapses. We have rationalised it into normalcy. Our bodies have become like cars that are left to rev endlessly, finally grinding to a halt…
Be Still and KNOW that I AM the LORD Your GOD.
From an early age, I carried a longing for a simple, quiet life — I did not yet have the language for it. All I knew was that I was happiest in quietness and peace. I sensed that simplicity was connected to who we were created to be – little did I know how I’d have to experience the noise when I grew older.
And now, in my sixties, I look back with a sobering realisation: time moves far faster than we imagine. Faster than our intentions. Faster than our plans. We assume there will always be time to slow down, to reflect, to live differently — until suddenly years have passed and life has quietly moved on. And yes, sometimes…it can be too late. I thank God I listened to the whisperings of my heart and body, to stop and go back to the drawing board and redesign MY LIFE.
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)
Through my twenties and thirties, I worked in international corporate and community organisation spaces. I worked hard and responsibly, building my ‘career’ and a life for my family and myself. By most measures, I was ‘doing well’. But inwardly, something was missing. I struggled with boredom, fatigue, and restlessness. I felt suffocated by life. Life didn’t make sense. I experienced a deep sadness and emptiness. My mind rarely rested. Gradually, I realised I was spending much of my life responding and conforming to other people’s demands, deadlines, expectations, and definitions of ‘success’ that were not truly my own values, but whisperings from the world. Telling us who to be, how to live, how to dress, how to succeed — almost how to breathe…Without noticing, I was living reactively rather than intentionally, which had become a part of the noise, familiar and normal. It was a very lonely place to be.
And, there’s always a cost to being on the treadmill of life.. It’s like a switched-on car engine that’s left revving indefinitely. After a while, the engine goes off or blows something up.
Some of the quiet costs of our fast-paced lives is: often the loss of the person you were created to be, because we are busy following others like sheep, the gradual erosion of family relationships, personal health, chronic stress leading to depression, some people become workaholics, and dependency on alcohol cheats you into thinking that it will help deal with the stress, etc.
Finally, in my 30’s, I went down with chronic fatigue syndrome. I knew that I had to stop. I took stock. I began to see and hear again — not the voice of the world, but that quiet, still voice we often tend to push away. In the stillness, a difficult truth shook me into reality- the only person who could take responsibility for my life was me. And before God, I would one day need to answer a simple question — How did you live the life I entrusted to you? What would I say? I can see my answer – ‘I went wherever the wind blew’…
“What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose his soul?” (Mark 8:36)
For many years, I hoped life would eventually calm down. That things would ease on their own. Instead, they intensified. And I realised that life does not slow down by default — it only slows down by choice. I did not want to keep masking the symptoms of chronic stress without addressing its root. I did not want to reach the end of my life having fulfilled everyone else’s expectations while neglecting my own calling.
So I chose to simplify. I said no to constant rushing. I questioned what I truly needed. I chose a quieter life, closer to nature, more attentive to God’s presence and closer to my purpose
“Better a handful of quietness than two handfuls of toil and chasing after the wind.” (Ecclesiastes 4:6)
When I finally stepped off the treadmill, I discovered something unexpected. Slowing down did not make me less effective. It made me more present. I worked from home, surrounded by nature, and found that my productivity increased while my stress decreased. My needs are simplified. My gratitude deepened. I now know why I am alive. I am more grounded in my life than I have ever been. I have joy.
Looking back, I see how easily time can be spent without being truly lived. My hope now is not to persuade, but to invite reflection: Where are you going? Who is setting the pace of your life? And what might you hear if you allowed yourself to be still?
Sometimes, the most faithful thing we can do FOR OURSELVES is to STOP.
For reflections on simple, faith-rooted living, visit:
https://shiberoa.wixsite.com/shiberoakatsa
Journey with me on YouTube:
👉 https://www.youtube.com/@Shibero_R_Akatsa/videos
