Lately, like many, I have found myself wanting to hibernate, hiding under my covers until the nightmare is over that has been unfolding in this country since Election Day 2016. No matter which side of the aisle you are on, know that what happens here is going to have an effect on your future and that of any children or grandchildren. I shudder when I contemplate the downward spiral that is permitted to continue without powerful intervention by those who have the ability to put a halt to it. It seems surrealistic.

Add to it that I am a therapist who sits daily with clients whose own lives seem like they too are spiraling out of control at times and I recognize why I feel as I do. It is then that I seek the support of the wise people in my circles who remind me of the importance of self-care that includes music, dancing, working out at the gym, time in nature, naps, meditation, writing, drumming, art, massage, hugs and compassion for the woman in the mirror.

On my way to work, I pass a farm-stand in front of a rural- road home. A table is filled with little bins of veggies and a large white bucket with stalks of bright-faced sunflowers, smiling at me. There are two bunches soaking in the cool water, that ask to come with me. I put the money in the box that is there on the honor system and carry them to the car. Once I get to the office, I hand a flower to several co-workers and leave others on the desks of those who haven’t arrived yet. Their faces light up like those on the flowers. At the end of the workday, I take mine home with me and place them in a vase in my kitchen, so I can enjoy their beauty.

One of the things I love about sunflowers is that they follow the sun and that if it is cloudy, they turn to face each other. It is their natural instinct to do so. As a human, I am learning that I can either huddle in the dark, fearful of what might happen on any given day, or turn my own face toward the brightness as I soak in the rays. I am willing to mutually absorb energy with those to whom I can also turn.

Photo credit:  Pixabay