Okay… let’s just admit that there’s a whole lot of traumatic stuff going on in our world at the moment.
This is the thing called context.
And, if you’ve been reading along for a bit, you’ve probably noticed that some of it has felt pretty close to me, lately. Grandmother Moon has certainly noticed! And, early this morning, she had something to share.
First, though… a story, of the seasonal sort!
It was Thanksgiving weekend of 1980. My 10 month old son and I were hanging with my folks. Turkey. Granny’s stuffing. Gravy, of course. And rolls… which probably got left on the top of the fridge as they generally did!
I was helping Mom in the kitchen. Dad and my Little were hanging in the the living room.
Suddenly, I heard thump… thump… thump… and wailing. And I ran!
You guessed it. My barely crawling Little had discovered the staircase while his Grampy dozed on the couch. Blessedly, he only made it up the first three steps before his big experiment with gravity and was scared, but not injured.
You guessed it…It was clearly time to upgrade our baby-proofing strategy!
We’ll come back to that in a moment.
For now, a reminder that my particular context has been pretty intense lately.
Ground rattling, chair shaking, booming construction – about three months worth – just outside our house.
The Israeli-Hamas war full of tragedy, vested self-interest, and a whole lot of identifying with all the people praying that they’d simply survive all the ground rattling, booming invasions.
A close encounter with a parking garage, complete with flashbacks.
And a whole lot of the kind of processing that comes along with creating and dreaming. At least for me… Often challenging and always (eventually) helpful.
Then Grandmother Moon got involved again, which is becoming a regular thing in my world.
Sunday night it was a review of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Really!
Then, very, very early Tuesday morning… a major ah-hah!
Trauma reactions and anxiety attacks are our nervous systems’ version of baby-proofing!®
Just like me buying a baby gate for my house and a couple for Mom and Dad on that particular Black Friday all those years ago!
They are NOT us “doing it wrong,” as the world often suggests. As we may have learned growing up!!!
They’re opportunities to learn. To learn about what caution is really needed. Like baby gates for new crawlers.
And when to graduate from baby gates as we grow. Or perhaps just a way to better understand that they’re trying to help.
I hope, with all my heart, that there’s a glimmer of light in this story that is em-power-ing for you and those you love.
And I thank you for listening. Even more now than usual. Because setting words like these free for you to hear, helps me to hear, too!
For now, holding you and yours, and all the Carter family, in grace and peace.
ps… the painting is my #constellationofbeing work-in-progress. If you tilt your head just so and squint a bit you may find hints of an ear, along with the visionary eye. May we have eyes to see and ears to hear!
pps… pease read this, even if – like me – you’re swamped in Black Friday and Giving Tuesday and 90 other versions of shop now! This is NOT SHOPPING! It’s a gift… a bonus story for you at this moment in the world. A story full of vision and shifting filters. And hope! Just click here to be magically transported…
Both this post and the bonus were absolutely amazing and honest and wonderful reminders for me to be gentle with me, stick with me, and be okay with some tears. Thank you! I love you!
Thank you, dear Cherie, for reading and hearing! I think we all need some good news of acceptance and hope in these days. I love you, too!