by Amy Shoemaker
Hope is a conscious action. To have it, you must move in a direction toward what you want. Each step is significant.
January 2019 – Step one, she decided to begin. Step two she found a therapist that related to her chronic glitter.* Step three, she made a connection with others in a similar glitter globe.
When a new friend told her about The Curable App in February, she took step four. She tried the App, loved it, bought it, used it. Five, doing better ‘sometimes’, she kept trying, which rolled into better and even better.
Woowza! June was a delight. Her first 30 consecutive days of no glitter in six years. She continued therapy, healthy eating, exercise, Curable, and lifestyle changes of loving herself in a way she thought she never could. She started reading The Gifts of Imperfection & The Highly Sensitive Person, which was a game changer.
Bam! July was not so good. What happen? Life, stress, and discouragement.
Six, seven, eight…. hope, hope, more hope. Take action. Rest the shin splints. Gain ten pounds. People please. Put herself second, because sometimes she gives to the ones she loves because she loves them and it’s just what she does at her own expense. But this time, it did not come without a big lesson…Hello, Miss Perfectionist.
“Thank you Brené Brown.” **
August – Step nine, girl hopes for another 30 days. Going strong. Oh-no. Careful, anger is lurking like a sneaky tiger. Past lesson learned; Nearly-uncontrollable, out-of-character extreme anger and rage is a migraine prodrome. It is also an indicator of menstrual/hormonal change, a trigger or PMS times ten. Her discovery: When highly sensitive people have an emotional imbalance they need to PLAY more.
“Thank you Elaine Aron.” ***
So this girl vented, letting it go with mindfulness and hope until she came to a place of acceptance and understanding of the emotions. And even though she hates pills, she gave into taking two Pamprin.
She played, laughed with friends at a festival and continued on. Play, play, play her heart out, but uh-oh. For the next few days, she caught a glimpse of glitter, yet making a choice to not fish for it, remarkably that sparkly stuff floated down river. She was still in the clear, and it was day 17.
Taking another step, once again she hoped with a pinch of new action. She googled stretches for shins. She walked not one time around the block, but two. Even after a busy day, she stuck to her new mantra, ”I courageously recreate the life I want.” and turned on the Curable App for another Brain Training.
This is the girl getting ready to listen to the twenty minute session, Safe Place Visualization: She’s sitting in a chair on her back deck surrounded by flowers, chirping birds, four pillows and a blanket. The weather meter reads eighty-two, but what’s more important? What the neighbors think or her needs? Bingo, comfort. She hits play and closes her eyes. She’s soothed into a beautiful self-created safe place. All her senses were addressed. Then the most miraculous thing happened.
She heard a loud buzz at very close range to the left of her face. It was a sound she was somewhat familiar with but from a distance. The App was temporarily silent in a pause of meditation. The buzzing stopped. Was she imagining it in her safe place or was it in reality actually there? She debated, decided and open her eyes. Hovering inches from her face was a hummingbird. Tiny and glorious his red copper breast shimmered as his invisible wings kept him afloat for several seconds before bidding her farewell. She smiled.
“31 days here I come!”
*Glitter-code word for pain. Specifically referring to migraine pain.
**Brené Brown is the author of The Gifts of Imperfection
***Elaine Aron is the author of The Highly Sensitive Person
Create the 🙂 L!fe You Want 