You know you are living in a STATE OF GRACE when all the parts of your day or your life fall into alignment.
I am blessed by two passions: gardening and providing psychotherapy.
It’s interesting because they have much in common:
As a gardener, my creations are inspired by Spirit. I don’t know what I am going to plant until I walk into a nursery and follow the leadings of my spirit. I walk and look for a long while, then the new plant or tree speaks to me. At that very moment I know exactly where I am going to plant it in my garden.
I inform myself about the type of soil, light, water and nutrients it needs, then carefully plant it – with love. I watch it closely each day, seeing that it gets what it needs. If it fails to thrive in that location, I plant it somewhere else.
Likewise, this is how I approach each new client who wishes to work with me. I listen closely to their story, ask them why they are here, and what they hope to accomplish in therapy.
The universal answer is that they are failing to thrive and want to be planted in rich, nourishing soil so that they can grow into the beautiful, unique beings they were destined to be.
As we review the original soil they were planted in as children, it becomes clear that their families of origin were not equipped to raise them. Many of my clients have been abused – emotionally, physically, sometimes sexually – or were not given the nutrients of love, safety, approval, guidance, respectful boundaries and consequences that they needed.
The soil, as it were, was shallow, rocky, overrun with weeds and pests, dry and barren.
They left their families with inner wounds or skills unlearned and entered a world they were ill-equipped to handle. They feel lonely, isolated, lost, confused, depressed and anxious.
I am blessed by loving what I do. Each client is like a brand new plant that needs to be planted in rich, nutrient – dense soil. Like a plant that starts as a tiny seed with everything it needs to grow to maturity nestled inside it, each of us human have the same potential within.
It is my honor and joy to work with each of them on their journey to wholeness.
Together we weed out the past. We throw out their sense of worthlessness, feeling defective, being broken, malnourished, afraid of life. We clean out the impediments to their growth and plant them in the soil of self- understanding and self-love.
As with any garden, therapy takes time, patience, endurance on the tough days, and careful observation – of one’s inner qualities and gifts, potential predators, and old coping mechanisms that would sabotage their forward progress.
The joy for me is being part of their process, seeing them begin to blossom and grow. The tiny, shy plant transforms over time into a vibrant, beautiful, strong unique being.
I am doing exactly what I was destined to do and am being carried in the Palm of God’s Hand.