The rest of us have to learn The Hard Way. We tend to forget the mathematical formula that's as old as gravity: what we take out we must put in. Otherwise, we'll get overdrawn with a bank notice from our Higher Self which says, "Deposit now. You are operating in the red." If we don't heed the red alert, our account can be closed---as in a crisis like getting ill and staying ill for as long as it takes to GET IT.

Sometimes I think about the people in the bible, Adam, Methuselah, and others who lived to be over 900 years old. Thinking about those guys can take away some of the fear of aging. I wonder if the women lived that long in those days or if they were working too hard.

Don't you think it would be possible to live for hundreds of years if we lived a natural life with little or no stress? Just think if we balanced our work and energy output with recreation and self-care. I believe we could live for centuries! Maybe I can plan ahead for my next life.

Recreation is a neat word. It implies we can recreate ourselves, our lives and our projects when we are having relaxed fun. When we engage in recreational activities, healing happens, inspiration comes, new neural pathways grow, and new ideas percolate.

How many of us really get the deep rest we need? To function optimally, we need at least seven, preferably eight hours nightly of peaceful, unmedicated sleep and time each week to do something as wonderful as reading in a meadow under a shady tree, lying under the stars at night, or having a whole day with no appointed times to be anywhere. How delicious!

I have a tendency to overwork and even though I have learned that lesson The Really Hard Way, I still have to keep an eye on myself. I slipped into overworking the last two weeks and sure enough I developed an infected tooth after a root canal. I wonder if I had been more rested and balanced if I could have sidestepped that infection.

Women have been trained since Day One to nurture everyone around us, keep everything together, work like mules, and put ourselves last on the list. Since the To Do List never ends, and we keep adding to it, we never get to that last item . . . ME!

I invite you over-doers, pleasers, and super women to take stock today of your place on the continuum of stress to zest. You can prevent exhaustion, illness, and burnout by making a list today of the ways to rest and rejuvenate that are just right for you. Commit to doing one small thing just for you each day that gives you energy and joy.