The nature of healing

Winter seemed to hold on for a long time this year, with snow in March and even a few cold days into late April. Now that it’s early May, it seems we’ve skipped right over springtime into 80+ degree days and the nostalgic smell of summer vacation on the breeze. I’ve been driving with the windows down (until the noise gets too annoying) and sunglasses on, jamming along to my newfound love of Kesha, and generally feeling upbeat about life.

The local nature reserve I drive through on my way to work every morning is home to my favorite tree, gorgeous views of the river, and families of deer happily munching away in the meadows. I’ve been running with my friend along the paths in this valley, through rain and snow, as we trained for a half marathon at the end of April. I mentioned that the trees all still looked dead and wintery, and she pointed out that you could see a bit of yellow fuzz as new buds started to grow.

After this exchange, I’d spend a few moments each time I ran along the path trying to unfocus my eyes a little bit to see the growing fuzz. Some trees had pink fuzz, others had yellowy green fuzz, but you could see the buds coming if you stopped looking so hard.

Then, this morning, on my drive through the valley, everything was lush and green. I just drove through it yesterday and it was not this green. But today, it was. It was like overnight everything suddenly came to full life in technicolor. I drove the fifteen minutes through the winding valley road with a smile on my face, overwhelmed by the excitement and beauty of nature. I may have shed a tear or two (but that may also have been Kesha).

Alone in my thoughts, it occurred to me that healing from emotional trauma is kind of like waiting for spring to come. If you keep looking for every little sign of growth, you may not see it. You may think the long winter is holding you back. But if you stop looking so hard, you can see new habits, new emotions, new strength, and new growth starting to take hold.

And one day, when nothing special in particular has happened at all, you may be completely surprised to find that things are going exactly according to plan, and your spirit is still intact, beautiful, and able to grow again.