Author: admin

We’ve had several windy days in the Pacific Northwest and as I’ve watched the way the various strengths of wind affect the yard, it has brought me thoughts of how “metaphorical” winds affect us in our lives.

Strong winds bend the branches of even the tallest, sturdiest trees. Smaller shrubs and branches are more vulnerable and seem to bend more readily to survive without breaking off. Watching them over a period of several days, I asked myself “Do I know how to bend without breaking?” I suspect for humans this has to do with resilience.

Strong winds often come unexpectedly in our lives. We have no time to prepare ourselves and can feel that we are being “blown away” by events over which we have no control. How do we cope with these events? Do we run and hide beneath the covers (a perfectly normal response sometimes in my opinion)? Or do we stand tall and tough it out until we can look the storm straight in the eye until it recedes? Maybe the way we respond to the storms in our lives has more to do with how we are feeling at the time? When we are vulnerable with little energy for stiffening our spines and standing up tall, we may more easily bend and allow ourselves to flow. When we are feeling strong and confident, we can face it head on until the worst has passed.

Sometimes after these storms, our backyard is littered with branches which are casualties of the winds. I relate to those branches, often feeling flung aside in some area of life myself. But, like I gather up those branches and stack them for the firepit, I also gather up the parts of myself that may feel bruised. Those that perhaps need to be let go of so there can be new growth in other areas.

Nature shows us how to live. We are in nature and we are of nature. Is it time to prune your own branches? Is it time to hold on or to let go? To bend, even to break?

Spring is here! Let’s celebrate by preparing for our new growth.

Mary

I love the saying “Grace comes new each day.” It means that we have a chance to start anew. With each morning, we can begin to see ourselves, our lives, and the world around us with new eyes.

I have often said that recovery is the chance to have a new life without having to die. With motivation and support, we can make choices as we create a life that reflects our deepest values and which shares our unique beings.

The Shakers, a religion that has since died out,  created a song “‘Tis a Gift to be Simple.” A recurring verse has the words, “‘Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be.” I find this line very reassuring. It means there is a place where each of us belongs. That maybe, just maybe, we were created because there is something specific that we are here to do.

Isn’t recovery essentially about recovering that core self who got lost somewhere among the adaptations, the traumas, the rejections, the seeking, and the giving up? Right now it is the “thing” to talk about recovery using the concept of connection. Isn’t recovery about connecting with our lost and wounded selves? Those parts of ourselves that were rejected by others, then by ourselves?

What have you let go of? What parts of yourself do you have difficulty embracing? Think about this and consider the possibility that you can love the parts of yourself you may have been considering unloveable for too many years. Shine your light brightly in your dark places. And rejoice in what you may find!

In peace,

Mary