Mercy Me

Good morning.

I know- it’s been awhile.  

Life and other things have diverted the energy needed to write these posts.  Rather than beat myself up, I am extending some mercy to myself. I have been working on this concept for awhile, and recently I have started co-reading “Hallelujah Anyway:Rediscovering Mercy” by Anne Lamott with a client as a way to open session.  Lamott herself is in recovery and talks about why extending mercy to ourselves is a challenge; “…to extend mercy to our own horrible selves, at our most ruined, to speak gently to ourselves, get ourselves a lovely cup of tea. It was and is the hardest work ever.”  

I face this hard work everyday and I observe the pain that a lack of personal mercy causes in others every day.  

As a way to keep grounded and not to become jaded or burned out, I start almost every session and absolutely every day with a silent pause of thankfulness that people, my clients, allow me to bear witness to their lives. That they allow me to sit with them in times of heartache and personal angst as well as times of growth and accomplishment.  I hold it as one of the great privileges of my life that I am able to experience this human connection.

Your task for this week is to practice this extension of mercy to yourself and observe how it helps you to connect with those around you.

Mental Health Awareness Month seemed like a good time to bring Mental Health Mondays back in action.  As we start them back up, this time it is with a little help from my friends. Kara Raybuck and Amy Whitney will both be contributing to these for awhile.  Thank you for reading and have a great week.