Opening the Floodgates of Relief

 

The Divorce

"This is the time to be slow;

Lie low to the wall;

until the bitter weather passes.

Try as best you can

not to let the wire brush of doubt

scrape away all sense of yourself.

Time will come good again."

John O'Donohue

Recovering from Unwelcome News

Uncovering the shit-disturbers

I release the disturbing effects of others.

I rebalance and bless the earth's energy around me,

and replant my garden with love and compassion.

Slowly, one step at a time I move towards healing.

Moving Out of Darkness 

While cleaning out the shit what did I find?

A big pile of love for life rooted so deep in my heart.

The pendulum swings toward the ladder of hope.

I climb out of the darkness into the light.

Starting Over

The cleansing rain pours down,

opening the flood gates of relief--

A little water letting 

to switch the flow of emotions 

to cleanse the soul.

Good thing? Bad thing? Who knows?

The Story Behind

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine was blindsided when her husband came home to say he had been having an affair for two years, he was moving out, and he wanted a divorce. 

As often happens when we're overcome with emotional turmoil, the physical world around her began to crumble, providing the perfect metaphor for how she felt and and how--through action--she could begin to move on and rebuild her life.

First, the rains came and flooded her backyard, and then the septic tank overflowed and needed cleaning out (thus the 'shit talk'). 

Two years on things are still settling out. The sump-pump of her heart has keep the emotional turmoil from overflowing, and her garden of life has flourished. 

Moral of the Story: Life happens. It is up to us to find our way through and to turn a potential pile of shit into a potential pile of love. It's hard and dirty work, but in the end, it's worth it. Keep on keeping on.