Creating Sustainable Healing

“Effort is often revelation
in slow motion”.
 

~Mark Nepo

I feel that it is such a privilege to be alive today.  To have the experience of welcoming in another decade of this lifetime, and to begin anew for this next year of life. 
 
Life is always brimming with possibilities for change, growth, and healing. The start of a new year is such a powerful time to magnify your own personal life and mission during your lifetime and to take an honest look at what needs modification and attention.  

Wherever the start of the new year finds you, in midst of potential loss and challenge or feeling hopeful and renewed, I hope that you are able to find some solace and connection to this sharing about the sustainable change and healing process.  
 
This newsletter is a bit longer than usual as there is so much to say when we are beginning a new decade!  As this is not an everyday occurrence, I just couldn’t resist sharing a bit more juicy inspiration in support of a positive start to this next chapter. 
 
Everyone wants to change something in their lives. So often we want to change or heal an aspect of our lives and we jump in full throttle with determination to make that change NOW.  Attaining a healthy weight, the new exercise regime, the booming business, the perfect love relationship, an abundant bank account, dietary shifts…whatever your version happens to be. 

We live in a culture of instant gratification and that mentality can potentially lead people to give up on their goals because they are not seeing or feeling the results immediately.  It is so easy to get overwhelmed at the magnitude of changes we want to make in our lives only to become discouraged by the slow process and/or lack of immediate results. 
 
True, embodied, and sustainable change and healing takes time.  It takes a steady commitment, practice, a willingness to fall back at times and to continuously pick ourselves up and step forward.

It is a process and requires diligence and an unwavering belief in oneself and ones innate capacity to change, heal, and grow.  
 
What is required for sustainable change and healing?  

• Commitment, faith, and a willingness to shed the old layers and step into the new.

• Learning how to be still and comfortable in the discomfort of the many flavors of a human life.

• A determination to step forward despite the egos cries differently.

• A continuous conversation with that part of yourself that wants to heal and grow and change.  

• A devotion to the process of unfolding.

• Perseverance with the practices and opportunities to step out of the space of fear and shame and into a residence with love.  

• An understanding that there is no perfection or endpoint on this journey of sustainable change and healing.  It is a process that one carries with them through their lifetime.  

• Patience with your process and understanding that there may be many moments of feeling as though nothing is shifting as well as moments of questioning if things have gotten worse.  This is all a part of the process.  

The path of sustainable healing and change is not a quick fix.  There are not strict rules and regulations, no formulas to follow and then you are magically healed and changed.  It is a process of self-discovery.  

It is an invitation to shed layers of what no longer serves you and transform yourself and your life so that you may step more fully into that place of empowerment, embodiment, strength, clarity, and an unwavering belief in the truth of exactly who you are.  
 
I feel moved to share with you a piece of my own path of sustainable healing and recovery from an eating disorder.  Over 20 years ago, I surrendered and checked myself into a residential, holistic treatment center.  After a stint there and feeling more grounded in myself and my recovery, I left only to find myself right back there less than a month later. It was my wake up call to my own personal process of recovery. 
 
I knew that:  A. This was not going to be easy, and, B. I needed to be on my own track and do things how they worked best for me.  While many of the women left with their meal plan in hand and abstinence as their goal (and very well were successful!) I knew that was not my path.  
 
I knew, for me, I couldn’t just stop the behaviors and be OK and functioning.  I needed to dig in and heal over and over and over again.  I knew consciously or subconsciously that I was needing a deeper and more embodied experience of wellness.  I knew that I needed to find my own unique way in this world, into my body, and into a place of health. 
 
And, I have.  
 
And, it has not been easy. 
 
And, the choice to create sustainable changes in my life, in my body, and in my relationship to the whole of who I am has invited in incredible opportunities of self-awareness and the strength to make choices on my own behalf. These actions and choices have provided me with the landing pad for longevity, connection, and a steadfast sense of presence with the truth of who I am.  
 
I share this with you as perhaps a more extreme example of creating sustainable change and healing, but also hopefully some inspiration to dive into your own hearts, tune into your own bodies, feel into what you want to shift, change, and heal in your own lives.  
 
It is never too late to take action in the direction of sustainable change and healing.  
 
At any moment we can choose to slow down and locate ourselves.  We can take a step, no matter how small, towards creating lasting changes. 
 
We can choose to stay gentle and kind with ourselves as we navigate this terrain. 
 
This is not a race. There truly is no rush.  Life is a process.  It is a wild road with so many twists and turns.  Giving ourselves ultimatums, absolutes, and unnecessary pressure to make instantaneous changes in our lives, is not only harmful to our souls but is a set up for failure. 
 
Approaching our change process as we would our children learning to walk who, for weeks, maybe even months, stand up and fall down over and over again until one day they take that shaky step forward.  We are gentle, loving, encouraging, and celebratory at their progress…even if they fall down again.
 
As we simultaneously step into this next year and new decade, may we be gentle with ourselves, loving, encouraging, and truly celebrate each step forward no matter how unstable and shaky we may be.  May we hold ourselves with compassion in the highest light as we navigate this change process.   
 
One step at a time.
 
One moment at a time.
 
Slow and steady effort.  
 
And, remember, you are your greatest teacher.  

No one knows better than you what you need to do to shift, change, create, embody, and step more fully into the unapologetically beautiful and bold person you are meant to be. Tune in, trust yourself, and reach out for support if you need it.  

 Infinite Blessings on this New Year and New Decade!