Monday, February 5, 2007

'Ware the Caretaker

She is alive and well, living in my body.
I'm trying to update my autobiography and its hard to put the work of the last year into a 2-3 page summary. Maybe I can just do bullet points:
  • I have a hard time asking for help
  • I've become aware of my struggle with sitting in the unknown - the journey is a mystery
  • I'm listening to the feelings within my body
  • The ability to take care of everyone else needs to include myself first
  • The critical voice is just another messenger
  • There is room in my heart for vulnerability and 'edges'
  • I am all that is bright and shadow - there is no right or wrong, good or bad, perfect or broken
  • Compassion is a gift that gives back to my own healing. Opening my heart without judgment helps me hold myself more gently
  • When I get anxious - I want to find solutions.
  • My parents did the best job they could - and there were some key moments that sucked. And they love me and I love them and we more forward allowing the imperfect past to be a place that informs me of my foibles, my strengths and my blind spots.

It's funny, as I re-read this list, I'm feeling something that kind of surprises me: acceptance. The energy is dissipating - all this work - the hours of therapy - the curriculum pieces - it has created in me a sense of resiliency.

It's also about my life at forty two years of age. Who I am today and how I got here. Wisdom gained and tears cried - its all me. And now I just want to keep my heart and mind open to this incredible gift of learning even though it really, really hurts some days. I want to spend time with friends and family. I want to laugh and sigh and dream.

And if I start to hide - smack me, hug me and give me a shoulder to cry on.

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