Weathering Vulnerability

When my husband, Scott, planned a trip for our fifteenth anniversary, I tried to convince him we should stay home. It was just six weeks after our move to Dundas and I was still trying to settle in. Besides, getting to Fogo Island off the coast of Newfoundland, sounded so complicated. Thankfully, I was outvoted.

Fogo feels remote, raw and wild.  Out of cell phone range, we unplug and slow down.  Unlike the Caribbean Sea, which is warm and inviting, the Atlantic is powerful and dark.  Waves crash against the rocks and cool mist sprays our faces on the rugged paths.  Even in summer, we bundle up against the howling wind.

I ponder survival as we hike on the deserted ocean-side trails. The harsh terrain draws me into my vulnerable places.  I feel where I am gripping, stuck in survival patterns that no longer serve me. Even once uncovered with the light of self-reflection, it’s hard to heal our primal wounds.  For many of us, the wound forms around the false belief that we are not enough, not worthy, not loved or not loveable.

The ways we coped formed an energetic network that confines us and makes us susceptible to particular traits, symptoms and diseases. In homeopathy, the work of undoing chronic symptoms is about using remedies to gradually rewire the energetic network. Homeopathic remedies are valuable in self-growth whether your approach is through meditation, psychotherapy or nature-immersion.

Communing with nature lets us move away from the hold of daily life. The inherent balance in nature shifts and prods us to let go. By a rushing waterfall, deep valley or mountain of rocks, our big problems seem smaller. In Fogo, I stare at rocks that have weathered thousands of crashing waves and I know that they can hold my small woes, if only I can find a way to set them down.