An oak and a reed were arguing about their

strength. When a strong wind came up, the reed

avoided being uprooted by bending and leaning

with the gusts of wind. But the oak stood firm

and was torn up by the roots.

-- Aesop

Within each of us, as in the reed and the oak, is a single characteristic which is both our strongest and weakest trait.

The bending which keeps the reed alive makes it weak, we might think.

Some of us see both sides of every argument and are good team players, fair judges, and compassionate friends.

But like the reed -- always bending to the needs of others -- we may never know what we want or who we are.

Some of us believe we are like the oak: strong and tough and successful in the face of most difficulty.

But we may never learn to accept flaws in ourselves.

We are wise to remember that no trait is strong or weak, but we make it so by how we use it.

We can use our strength to stand straight in the face of hardship, and we can use our strength to bend.

The bough which has been downward thrust by

force of strength to bend its top to earth, so soon

as the pressing hand is gone, looks up again

straight to the sky above.

-- Boethius

When we are down, low, depressed, why can't we ignore the desire to rise up again?

Because we're like plants that need pure air, water, and sun.

Because no matter how bent and old, we just keep wanting to grow up.

Because there is a natural spring in us like that which makes flowers leap from the earth in May.

Because we have hidden wings.

And if we listen, we can feel the difference between wrong and right: we know the difference even with our eyes closed.

Therefore we should not try putting ourselves down, for we will spring up again, sure as Spring.

we all have as living beings to live in harmony

with the life energy and to fulfill our potential as

creatures among many on this planet.

-- Chellis Glendinning

We live in a world that tells us healing only comes from outside ourselves.

To some, it may seem odd to think each of us has the ability to heal ourselves.

How is this possible?

Easy -- we can do it if we believe we can.

Whatever we believe we cannot do will remain beyond our ability.

But believing we can heal ourselves gives us access to many healing ways.

Self-acceptance is healing. Singing, playing, walking by a river are healing.

Even helping others with their problems can be healing to us.

There are as many ways of self-healing as there are people in the world.

Once we experience what is healing for us, we can go on to discover many more healing acts to share with others.

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11/07/2024

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