Therapeutic Thoughts

On a wintry afternoon by the lake, I was out for a walk with a friend. As we reached an icy patch on the trail, I walked around it to avoid slipping. At the same time, my friend lunged forward and ran across the ice, sliding on it joyfully. It occurred to me in that moment that we can live our lives in either approach- avoiding perceived danger or charging toward perceived opportunity. It is necessary to differentiate between situations in order to avoid actual risk (physical or emotional), but my feeling is that most of us tend to lean more towards the pole of extreme caution. What do we lose by avoiding risks? How did we learn that taking a chance is scary or not worth trying? When did failure become such a bad word? Who do we need next to us as we chart a new, and often frightening, path? Important questions to explore... As for me, this moment on the trail led me to reflect on my own tendencies, and on the next icy patch I thrust myself forward and slid on the ice. A few more att...

Don't we seem to go faster and faster these days? Working or studying, running errands, caring for family members, keeping up with the constant news flow and with social media, and so much more... When, in all of this, do we stop and take a breath?  You may wonder why this is important- isn't it good to be productive, accomplished, busy? I would argue that productivity only improves when we take a break (and our vacation days!), and that the pressure of continuous movement is not the only (or best) way to be.  What do we miss when we rush? The opportunity to really be in a moment of connection, of insight, of growth. And perhaps we also miss out on the possibility to notice what, and who, is in our life, and how we feel about that. I invite you to stop for a few minutes a day (you can put a reminder on you phone…), and just be.