Thoughts on Healing
I am starting the new year thinking a lot about how I can better guide clients to cultivate healthier and happier lives. I had a growth opportunity with an injury last year, and it really shifted my perspective on what it means to take care of myself and what types of outside help best helped me to recover.
I am grateful that I have some exceptional practitioners who helped me through my injury. The most important thing they taught me is that ultimately I must tune in to my own body and mind and do the work of healing for myself. That’s the gift I want to share you in this post; the opportunity to explore the idea that your practitioners are guides and resources, but you are the world’s leading expert on you and therefore the best possible person to know what your body and mind require given your unique combination of genetics and experiences. Approaching your health in this way requires conscious connection to yourself and consistent dedication to returning to the work of maintaining your own health and well-being.
I recently learned about the Japanese art of Kintsugi, which is the practice of repairing broken pottery with a resin containing precious metals like gold or silver. I saw a picture of a cup repaired in this way, and I was taken with the beauty. I wanted to learn more about it, so I Googled up this website www.discover-japan.info, which describes the philosophy of the art form as follows:
“By breaking an object and repairing it, the Japanese consider that the value of the object is enhanced to a new level of appreciation. Rather than being viewed as losing value, repairing ceramic creates a sense of new vitality: IN OTHER WORDS The bowl becomes more beautiful after it has been broken and repaired. In other words, the proof of the fragility of these objects and their ability to recover is what makes them beautiful.”
Isn’t this a lovely metaphor for ourselves? None of us can travel through life without acquiring some chips and cracks, and sometimes we just fall on the floor and shatter. It is hard and we are in pieces, and we feel scared and fragile. If you want to really dive in, I will say I think this vulnerability is a large part of the human condition. Many of the unhealthy behaviors we engage in are really just us trying to avoid feeling our fear and fragility.
Much like the art of Kintsugi, our ability to repair ourselves and recover can be what makes us beautiful. But like anything worth having or doing, repairing our bodies requires mindful attention to and care of the unique details of piecing ourselves together. In other words, we must lovingly repair our own particular chips and cracks. Nobody can do that for us. We must also understand that we are likely to need to repair ourselves again and again. Each person’s pattern of repairs will be different; but our repaired selves are unique, beautiful and testaments to our resilience and vitality.
So how does this pertain to the original goal of my post, which is to help my clients lead happier and healthier lives? The nitty gritty: I get great questions from clients all the time about specific tools that they might use to take better care of their bodies. What is the best mattress? Should I put a lift in my shoe? What is the best diet to lose weight? What exercise class should I attend? Should I take the muscle relaxer/pain medication? Will surgery/drugs/PT/chiropractic fix my pain? Does my MRI/x-ray show you exactly what’s wrong? I have information to share about these topics, and sharing this knowledge is an important part of how I can be of service to my clients. But giving people definitive answers to questions that are functionally unique to each person would be a disservice. I can guide clients toward likely solutions and suggestions, and they need to determine which of those work for them. Sometimes it is trial and error (just seeing what works), and sometimes it requires slowing down enough to listen to the inner voice that tells each of us when we are on the right path. None of that can happen if I tell people I have definitive answers or instructions.
This is the secret that I think has been largely lost in health care: well-being is an art form and partnership between practitioner and client as much as it is a science. Of course, there are times when you just need what you need; specific medications or treatments for acute conditions are where the science of medicine is indispensable. But outside of those specific conditions, it is my goal to help my clients develop the knowledge and skills to care for themselves (and ask for help as needed) to maintain themselves as happy and healthy humans, and to recognize that their needs will likely change over time and that’s part of the process. Sadly, there just isn’t a universal instruction manual for this messy life we’re all living.
Over the next year, I plan to write posts about many ideas that may be helpful to you as you work on your health and wellness. But please understand that nothing is a definitive answer or edict. I hope you will read the posts and try on the ideas that seem like they might work for you and bless and release the ideas that aren’t a match. Ask me questions, talk to your friends or other practitioners, Google it (but do be careful with Dr. Google), listen to podcasts, find books that explain it better than I do. Be curious and willing to change and dedicated to the task of living your best life, I promise it will be worth the effort.
Cover photo provided by ededchechine on Freepik.com