Some say there is no journey. The healing path is actually something we create ourselves, as we place one metaphorical foot in front of the other in the direction of our growth and transformation.
I’m not sure how I feel about this. It kind of takes the mystery and magic out of the transformational process. At any rate, does it even matter?
What I do know is we need to feel supported and nurtured as we do this important life changing work.
Sometimes support can come from other people on a similar “path”, or perhaps from someone who knows where we’re at ’cause they’ve been there before, and are a few “steps” ahead of us. And sometimes support can come through the written word.
There are times when words can feed and nourish our soul in a way that makes us feel understood, and as if we’re exactly where we need to be.
One such poem is The Journey by Mary Oliver. It’s a beautiful and insightful statement about the only life in this world we can really save.
*****
The Journey
by Mary Oliver
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice-
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life?”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations-
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice,
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do-
determined to save
the only life you could save.
*****
To have the awareness we can save ourselves is huge. To have the determination to see the process through to its natural conclusion, feeling at home in our bodies and at peace with ourselves, is a gift of love.
It takes courage to create our own unique healing journey. The courage lives inside us all.
