let’s call out: HEALING

It’s all over social media - take time for self-care and bubble baths. Balance your life through margaritas and the keto diet. Make sure you grab the bath bomb with a ring inside and definitely make sure those nachos have extra cheese.

But let’s get serious for a sec. Healing is hard. It fucking sucks some days.

We often look to nature when we talk about growth and healing. I mean why not? Everyone has seen a plant right? Or butterflies?

When a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly it has to first break down its entire body so that it can be built right back up. A seed gets buried in the dirt and breaks out of its shell to then push through the dirt into the sun. All of this is part of growth. It’s also part of healing.

There will be days when that gooey mess that used to be a caterpillar can’t continue on its path to grow. It’s too tired. So, it’ll just sit in its goo and rest. Now, I don’t actually know if that’s what caterpillars do, don’t quote me. But it’s what we do as humans.

When there’s growth of any sort, it requires healing. It requires looking at what is broken or hurt and saying this is what hurt me or this is how I hurt others. Taking responsibility for your own actions - which even that’s painful - then making conscious choices to change. To grow.

Each day becomes a battle to heal those hurts. To grow and do better than you did the day before. To seek therapy or spiritual direction or read book that challenges your thought processes or to talk to friends who hold you accountable and will take no shit from you.

Healing and growth requires change. And sometimes, that change does mean getting up early to do yoga and drink smoothies. And sometimes it means having a lazy day, eating only nachos.

It’s about listening to your gooey body. Does it need to stretch? Run? Consume two pounds of cheese?

Healing takes time and that’s ok. Learn to not be so hard on yourself - I’m learning this too. After all, we’re just gooey caterpillars under weighted blankets actively waiting to emerge as butterflies.

And my aren’t you beautiful.