Yesterday’s book signing was a success and I received a very special gift! Thank you, Laurene & Winston, For the wonderful hand made tree neck Lace, The tree of life. It is so fantastic that my tree meditation I wrote about in my book has taken on meaning in so many peoples lives. Learning to go to my safe place was no easy task and I failed a lot before succeeding, with the tree meditation.
To be honest I was going to leave the Finding my safe place chapter out of the book all together because it was so personal to me but now I see the impact it has had I am glad I didn’t.
Today I would like to share a special excerpt from my book where I went to my tree on run. This is also very special because I talk about my Father in this thought record. My father the Greatest Man In my life! My super hero, My man of steel, My Dad. I love you so much.
Thought record:
On my Run this morning.
I am so proud of myself today and I am not afraid to show it. I am happy and proud. This morning on my run I spent my time in my safe place.
Moods:
Relaxed 100%, happy 100%
Sit:
I went to my safe place. My safe place is a tree. I imagined that I was a tall tree planted in my parents’ back yard. My father’s Ginkgo tree he planted when I was just six years old. I breathed deeply, inhaling through my leaves and exhaling through my roots. I just relaxed and did this for quite a while. Just thinking about what it must be like to be a tree. Not to have any expectations or worries, to have nothing to do but grow and grow, because I am a tree and that’s what trees do.
I picture my father as a strong, young man planting me with his strong and caring, gentle hands. They are the same strong hands that held me as a baby and rocked me to sleep. They rocked my six older brothers as well. I think about how my father would water me after work and just stand there watching everyday as I grew.
As this tree I also watch a family grow around me never wanting to interfere or pass judgment or criticize, wanting only to breathe deeply and grow nice and slow, and watch this family grow as well. I watch soccer games. I watch this strong man build tree houses for his sons. I watch him play baseball with them and even build a pool and ice rinks for hockey games.
All along, my branches just grew and grew. I got taller and taller, children turned to teens and teens turned to men. The man who was once so strong also got older and older, and became a grandfather.
As a tree time, must be a very peaceful thing. As a tree, I just watch life flow by, with no obligations and no commitments. I just grow and learn just like I am doing in real life, growing and learning how to be myself. I love my safe place and I love who I am.
This was a goal I had made ever since I started therapy and found my safe place, which was not an easy task at the time. Now I am proud of myself, which is something I really haven't been able to say ever. I am proud because I did this. I reached a meditative state went to my safe place ran 8km in my safe place my tree. I am proud of myself because I have this safe place I can go to. I am worth changing and I am not afraid to be myself.
“Only with open conversation can we kill the stigma behind depression, Lets start talking and kill it together”
https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/why-i-run-my-story/9781773022192-item.html?ikwid=Why+I+run&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0