Hi friends!
I hope you all are doing well! I realized the other day that my neurodivergence showed up in the fact of... not showing up (i.e. not blogging since August- ope!). Here I am again.
I had a thought the other day (shocker) and decided it was something we needed to talk about. I go on walks for 30-45 minutes pretty much daily. It was something I started a little over two months ago, and now it's become a need. Yesterday, I took a walk in 35 degree weather, which, in Oklahoma, is brutal with the wind. I had bundled up, put on my hype workout playlist, and as I was walking, I remember thinking, 'Ahh, this isn't so bad...' until... gulp, I turned the corner and I was headed straight into the wind. I kept thinking to myself, "Well, this is a good metaphor for life. Sometimes, you're moving against the wind, and sometimes it's pushing you forward." See the photo below where I realized my mistake, but it was already too late. I was out there, and the walk had begun and I needed to persevere to the finish line.
It reminded me of an old Irish blessing, where the writer wishes for all manner of goodness and fortune towards the person they are blessing.
"May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand." - An Irish Blessing
Here's the kicker though: the wind can't always be at your back. Life just doesn't happen that way. In fact, if you live long enough, you'll have many times/years where you feel like you're walking straight into the wind. And the wind in these instances is icy, and there's a cold rain mixed in, and you're certain you've never been more miserable in your life.
All we are is just running against the wind. (Quick, name that song!) If you keep going, eventually, you will turn a corner, and the wind will be at your back again. Sometimes, as therapists, all we're doing is encouraging you that these gusty gales in your personal life can't last forever. You will turn a corner, get a new job, move on from that relationship, stop crying every time you hear that song, cease waking up in the middle of the night screaming, etc. It will happen. But your therapist has to be stalwart and steady throughout this process. They have to remind you that good times come and go, and bad times come and go. And we endure them both.
Here's your reminder: the wind will be at your back someday, and you will be grateful for the grit these experiences gave you, just as I was grateful for the wind pushing me forward during my daily jaunt. Keep going, moving, pushing, even with tears streaming down your face, even with snot running out of your nostrils, even when you think you can't do it much longer. Keep going.
Take exquisite care of yourself,
Megan
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