2012 Resolution #23: Allow Yourself to Heal
Posted on January 23, 2012 by Maria McInnis, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
#23 in our series on resolutions, today about healing emotionally through forgiveness and love.
Resolve to let yourself heal this year.
Healing doesn’t just apply to the body: it applies to our minds, our emotions and our spirits as well. When the body is hurt it tends to itself, producing pain killers while our immune system kicks in to help. Sometimes we need outside help in order to heal our bodies through the form of doctors and sometimes medicines. People rarely fight the process of physical healing, but when it comes to healing the rest they become cautious.
Sometimes, just as we need outside aide to heal the body, we must seek outside aide to heal our minds, emotions and spirits. This doesn’t always mean psychotherapists or psychologists – sometimes we can see help in the form of friends, confidantes, family and coaches, but first we must be willing to ask for the aide.
Unlike the wounds of the body, the wounds of the heart and the mind are often invisible. Someone who is trained to notice may see the hurt sprawled across someone’s face or in their habits, but until the person comes out and seeks aide it is all speculation and dangerous assumption.
“Healing takes courage, and we all have courage, even if we have to dig a little to find it.” – Tori Amos
The invisible wounds created by our lives can have a million reasons for being what they are, but irregardless of their origin, you have the ability to heal. Of that you must be certain, for the fact that you live shows that you have the strength. We have said this before, but the truth of it is paramount to understanding your resilience as a human being.
You must first give yourself permission to heal. You must allow yourself to realize that being wounded and hurt doesn’t define you. You must realize that your past does not make you who you are: your choices do. You have the ability to chose your attitude towards everything, and that includes your attitude about your past. If you decide to be strong and to overcome, you have taken the first true step to healing.
Our lives are not about the past – nor even the future – they are about what we do right here, right now. It is about learning the lessons we need, and about building towards the future, but no matter what now is all we really have. So in this moment you can choose to begin building a healing environment.
So, with that said, how do you heal?
Healing can be hard, but it can also be easy. First off you must be willing to forgive others and yourself. In Resolution #21 we spoke of this in depth. This forgiveness is one of the first steps.
The next is love. You need to find things about yourself to love, and you need to share love with others. Having self-respect, and self confidence with a knowledge of your victories, you strengths and your desires are all a part of this step. It is all part of building yourself up to love and to share.
Once you have that forgiveness and love you have a foundation upon which to build.
Healing takes time, and is about building up new, positive habits. Some people turn to meditation, others to the arts, while still more turn to learning. All of these are things that help to not only build new, positive habits that allow for a peace of mind, but they also give a conduit to channel the pain out of you.
There is healing to be found in nature, in creative endeavors and in doing something new and wonderful. Allow yourself to find your channel, and use it as a personal therapy. It is different for every one, and no one can truly tell you where to direct yourself, but once you do the tumult of life begins to still and life begins to take on a new focus.
So far all of our resolutions have built up to this point where healing – true healing – can begin to take place. By resolving to allow yourself to heal this year you are taking the first and best step towards a new future in which nothing can hold you back, and in which you will be strong, confident and able to become whatever it is you dream of becoming.
Your life begins now.
