The title of this entry came from a download I had while doing some breathing exercises.
Like so many of these little phrases that drop in, it’s not so much what is said, but the way it lands that makes it so powerful.
Healing is a reclamation in every sense of the word. One of my favorite things about it is you usually end up better off than you were before.
As you heal you reclaim your sense of self, your ability to form and maintain healthy relationships, and your body (both its functioning and your relationship with it).
Granted, these ideally would’ve never been interfered to begin with- but that’s not the point.
A friend I’ve known for almost four years told me recently that when he hit puberty he lost the ability to speak. He literally could not project his voice- it was as if his vocal cords were frozen.
This reminded me of how some people describe being “trapped inside themselves,” when experiencing the freeze response in their nervous system after a distressing event, or not feeling safe in their bodies for a prolonged period of time.
Back to my friend: after signing up for voice lessons and practicing the skills he learned, he reclaimed his ability communicate clearly. To see him now you would never know he struggled for one min- in fact I was truly shocked to learn this part of his story.
When I think of my own life in regards to reclamation, I realize I’ve been working towards this for quite some time, although I’m just now naming it.
A few examples are as follows:
• Neurofeedback and brain training for improved focus, better sleep, and a more regulated nervous system.
• Pilates to improve my posture and mind/body connection.
• Math lessons to exercise a different area of my brain and to restore the confidence that was lost in middle school due to multiple factors that I can write more about later.
As im writing this, I’m thinking of so many people that get praised for a talent or skill that seems to natural to them, but in fact it was a former “weak” point, or deficit. It was only after hours, weeks, maybe even years of intentional practice that they became what we see today.
When you do the work to make something your own, it becomes. ..yours.
Once we dig deep and access our “intestinal fortitude” (military term) we gain entry into a portal of transformation that only exists for those with the courage to believe in it.
We emerge stronger, wiser, and more empowered than ever before- looking back only to see how far we’ve come.
Photo: Bodie Island Lighthouse, Outer Banks, NC January 2022
Anatomy of an Awakening 