My husband and I live on a beautiful piece of land. It stretches from the main road - which acts as one side of our property boundary - to the Fish River - which marks the opposite boundary. Most of our land is wooded and we have quite a trail network running through it, but we could easily become lost if we wandered off trail for too long.
In fact, when we first moved here, I did get lost a few times! On one hand, it was gloriously fun to explore our very own forest; but on the other hand, it would have been a lot more glorious to have snacks and extra water!
However, it didn’t take us too long to figure out a solution. Because it is a continuous downward slope to the river, all we need is one simple instruction to ensure that if we forget our map, we will not be lost for long:
Home is up.
The downward slope is easy. In the physical world, gravity attracts. We associate that direction with "down". A ball rolls down an incline with growing momentum from just the slightest tap. It’s natural. It’s physics.
On the flip side, a ball requires an incredible amount of effort to escape gravity's pull and roll up an incline.
Since home is where we absolutely want to sleep at the end of the day - not in a beaver swamp - up we must go! Thankfully, it is super easy to tell which way is up because the slope is pronounced across our property.
If you feel lost or hopeless during a journey towards healing, just remember:
Home is up.
Up requires effort.
Up will need rest
Up takes multiple tries.
Up uses different energy than the Energy of Down.
Up is within reach.
Home is up.
Now is a great time to start gathering some tools and supplies for the journey ahead. Go pour yourself a glass of fresh water and drink it.
That's all that is required for this moment.
I'm not trying to be silly or patronizing here! Something as simple as hydrating your body is a strong step towards positivity. And it's a step everyone can benefit from taking. It will give you the energy needed for continuing "up."
What are some other small steps you can take to "rev up" your engine?
(This blog post is an excerpt from the upcoming Super Horse Press book "Facing the Elephant" by Melanie Hartt. It is the first book in her scheduled "Elephant Keeper" series.)
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