Sunday, February 12, 2023

Calm and the Grace of Time are the Secrets to Healing

 


"In times of joy we all wish
we possessed a tail to wag."

W.H. Auden


I love seeing the joyful wag of a dog's tail. It conveys so many things--
'I love you', 'I'm happy', 'good to see you', 'welcome', 'thank you'.

I especially love seeing the sleepy and contented wag of a dog's tail with 
an energy that's soft, calm and slow. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and it calms and refreshes my tired mind.




Let's Rest Now

One night last month, as I allowed my tired mind to wander, I spied my dog, Hannah, resting on the rug. As her soft eyes met mine, a smile opened on my face that was answered by one of those soft, calm tail wags from Hannah. 

"Let's rest now," she seemed to say. "Tomorrow's another day. Tonight is for healing rest and tomorrow we wake refreshed."

I needed that soft nudge from my soft-hearted girl. Life had been crazy after my gentle husband, who had been admitted into the hospital for extremely low sodium levels, was administered a drug 'Haldol'  to "calm his agitation" that did the opposite and set him on a continuous loop of negative thoughts of suicide and mayhem for two more weeks in the hospital. 


Waking after Winter
Unhurried
Pensive Blooming
Quiet and Calm

Vivid
Bold
Self Assured and Present
Announcing Spring
Basking in the Sun

Susan J Meyerott


Calm and the Grace of Time

After getting out of the anything-but-calming hospital environment, it took a month in the controlled and calm environment of home to gently heal his brain from the injury caused by this drug and allow him to return to his previously balanced and vibrant self. And it's taken another month for him to re-establish his normal patterns of daily living with exercise and good nutrition to strenthen his body and spirit.

Many things can throw us out of balance, from everyday little stresses to the stress of being given a drug that's incompatible with our body. 

No matter the source of the stress and injury to our brains, time and calm are the key ingredients to healing the wounds--large and small.

For instance, you can't look for lost eye glasses with intensity; you must gently relax your mind and let the glasses reappear as you go through your normal rythmns of life.

When the stresses of life put you off kilter, remember 'gentleness can accomplish what force can not'Calm and the grace of time heals. You can't hurry the process. 

Relax and let time work for you.