A Breath of Fresh Air

I woke up not feeling so well, not sick, just off. We had a hard conversation. I felt teary. But then we decided to go to a local community event. I got so immersed in it. And when I came home, I felt like a new woman. I felt invigorated, enlivened, positive and hopeful. It was as if I had taken a breath of fresh air.

Why did I feel better? My mind had taken time to focus on something else. I had forgotten about my earlier angst. Moving my body had made it feel better. Simple interventions, yes, but with profoundly positive results.

Feeling blue? Try something that distracts you-no, not something that dissociates you, like scrolling your phone. Something immersive, creative, interesting. It could be an outdoor activity like going for a hike, walk, or run. It could be a creative pursuit like painting, knitting or crocheting, or wood working. It could be a museum tour. Get up; get out. Literally breathe some fresh air. Who knows? It might have the same effects as it did for me, lightening your load and livening your mood. Isn't it cool how God made us?

Metabolizing Trauma

My clinical supervisor and I had a discussion recently about trauma exposure and how it can decrease creativity. All that bad stuff we encounter? It just sits around and lingers if we don't process it. Often times, the bad in life (or in the world around us) is so bad that we just want to forget it, or let it go, or not acknowledge it. But we have to process it and let its after affects be part of us, or it can rule and wreck us.

So how do we metabolize trauma? I don't fully know. But I know it's necessary to have a vibrant and thriving life, especially with the work I do. So here's a starter list of ways I know I can work through trauma:

• Hiking
• Walking
• Yoga
• Movement in general (because it integrates both sides of the brain)
• Talking
• Drawing
• Writing (part of why I have this blog)
• Cooking
• Sleeping (but only if I do the work of processing afterward)

And I'm going to argue that processing often takes several of these methods, several times. And sometimes processing has to happen over the course of time. Because trauma has a way of re-emerging.

And processing takes action, deliberate action, and deliberate choice. But if I don't process, I'm in trouble. My relationships are in trouble. My work is in trouble. Because unmetabolized trauma causes toxic build up. And toxic build up is deadly.

On the other hand, metabolized by-products can be beneficial. The residual effects of trauma, the scars and wounds that have healed, can make us better people. The process of metabolizing trauma can make us stronger.

So let's do the work people. Let's figure out what works, and do more of it. Feel free to contact me, or comment below about additional ways to process trauma. We all need to do it, and the more methods, the better!

Taking the Good with the Bad

As my parents and I sat around the table playing Skip-Bo earlier this year, I thought of the couple who taught me the game. The man was neither good nor godly, yet I learned from him. I learned more from him than just how to play Skip-Bo. I learned about God, and life, and living, and learning, and loving, and serving. I learned what I don't want to do, about the legacy I don't want to leave, and I received a lot of chances to re-examine my own great needs for restoration and forgiveness from God. God ordained a lot of good within the bad.

Good has come from "bad*" in other situations, too, like from the teachings of a pastor who resigned a church position. He preached the unfailing Word of God, and I learned from his sermons, whether or not his life looked exactly how I'd like. I don't want to forget the "God-things" he taught me.

[I put the term "bad" in quotes not to discount the evil or sin in the world, but to acknowledge that the word "bad" carries with it a lot of negative connotations. Often, people think that the "bad" isn't redeemable. I disagree. We're all bad, haven fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). But I believe in a God who can redeem all things (2 Cor 5:17).]

When life gets hard and people especially are "bad," we tend to throw out the baby with the bathwater. We swear off anything associated with the person, fail to speak the person's name, and sometimes, even deny we know the person. I don't think that's the correct response. When we don't acknowledge the bad that happens, we deny the sin nature that exists in all of us. We don't admit that we ourselves are also capable of bad. We don't seek out and celebrate the redemption and restoration of God. We throw away good things just because they have bad associations.

In and through the Holy Spirit's power, I've chosen to enjoy and celebrate the game of Skip-Bo, even if it comes with some hard-to-accept associations with a bad man. I've chosen to say the name of that pastor that left the church and admit that I learned from him, even if other people won't. Am I perfect? No way, no how! There are a lot of times that I deny the bad in life just so I don't have to admit my own bad. But I don't want to live that way. I don't want to miss out on God's good just because the bad exists. God is sovereign over both.