Twenty years ago, I met with a talented young woman who very capably ran our Graphic Arts department. She had requested a meeting with me to “explore” the ramifications of pursuing her dream to move to Hawaii and be the artist she is. She had not yet committed to this direction, at least not to anyone other than herself. While I am sure she was curious about some assurances about a “fall back” position if things didn’t quite work out, I offered only enthusiastic encouragement. I shared with her a story to illustrate my whole-hearted support for what she was contemplating. She left my office, then left the company, never gazing back at that former career. I sit here now, smiling, as I recount that episode in our lives. [TO CONTINUE READING, CLICK ON THE TITLE ABOVE]
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I’m on her email distribution list. I don’t really know if she realizes I’m on it. This morning I received one of her email blasts, accompanied by a sample of her art. The theme was Nurturing Yourself and the painting she included was of a card she had created back in 1998, a time she said was “long before I dreamed of living in Hawaii”. * * * Yesterday I had a conversation with one of my favorite baristas, who was feeling, and looked, a bit down. “There’s so much negativity, I’m feeling the weight of it all and I need more positive vibes”, she said. “I’m worn out and I feel like I need a vacation to recharge”. In response, I offered one of my standard insights – “you know what Yoda would say – ‘look for this within, you must’”. She forced a smile, but countered languidly, “the well is nearly empty”. These two episodes could not have been timelier, presented to me against the backdrop of life - a few women close to me are incumbered at this very moment. My thought, my concern is to wonder “what happens when the care givers go down’? Theirs is not a run out of gas, worn down, slow erosion type of hindrance. They all consistently and regularly plow right through that, their struggling imperceptible to the rest of us mere mortals (by that I mean men). No, for them it’s a dead battery syndrome – a can’t start - won’t start without some type of external charge. I hear the words “nurture yourself” whispering to me. OK, it’s more like a scream. As the artist Patrice wrote with grace and wisdom 20 years ago in that card entitled Nurturance: The desire to be nurtured, supported, and encouraged in our growth is a constant. Acknowledge this for yourself and allow a new nurturing energy to enter your life. We're always nurtured by the love of our Source Self. Breathe in the energy of being nurtured. The service mark at Southern Herb for the past twenty years, used as a tagline in our logo, is “helping people heal people”. At this time, mindful of all those who heal others, our intentions and prayers are for these most special of people to take some time to nurture themselves … and for the rest of us to enable just that to happen. |
| Gina Eichorn |
01-27-2020 16:15
This is a beautiful stated article~~~Thank you for sharing it with us |