November 23, 2005
A Good Morning To You, Survivor--And May You Thrive!
If you've done the recovery work to transform your abuse victim status to that of survivor, you may be ready to make the jump to thriving. You may, however, ask yourself, "what does it mean to thrive?" What does thriving look and feel like? On my website, www.survivorscanthrive.com, I've listed a poem of sorts about a day of thriving. (You can find the full story in the "Meditations" archives.) My very first blog entry talked about the first three lines of that "poem," which tell about getting a good, full night's sleep.
The next section talks about waking up and starting the day. "Upon awakening, I feel refreshed," means exactly what it says. Refreshed?! What a concept! What a miracle, to start a new day feeling refreshed from the previous night's sleep. If you're a survivor who's struggled with falling (and staying) asleep, you know what I'm talking about--how important this is. I used to sleep so poorly at night and then find it very difficult to drag myself out of the cozy, warm bed once the sun was up.
Before I had all my memories of the sexual abuse (much of which happened in my bed, at night, in the dark) I was baffled by my observation that any bed I attempted to sleep in transformed from a vehicle of torture in the dark, to a warm, toasty snuggle-spot in the daytime. There were many times over the years that I seriously considered getting a job somewhere on the graveyard shift so that I could sleep soundly during the day. What worked out so much better for me was doing the necessary trauma processing with a trauma expert. To find out how to locate a trauma processing expert for yourself, see the "Resources" section of my website.
The next line of A Day of Thriving speaks of being flooded with insights and optimism. Now, I'm not going to lie to you, this does not happen every morning. But, it happens often enough (now that I'm thriving) that I keep a pad and pen next to my bed so that I can record the great stuff that often bubbles up and into my awareness, right as the sun is coming up. And, speaking of the sun, now that I'm more of a morning person, I do enjoy a good sunrise quite often. Even if I'm jotting down a few notes in my morning journal, I take the time to look out my window to the east. I'm often rewarded with a gorgeous, crimson sky. It's a great way to start the day.
When I think of "starting" the day, I have to mention where I'm at now with coffee drinking. Back in my dissociated, sleep-disorder days, I would routinely consume six to eight cups of java a day. I don't think I'll ever completely eliminate caffeine from my diet, but I have cut down a great deal. Today, I enjoy just one morning mug of coffee. And, it's something I truly enjoy; not just some chemical I'm pumping into my veins in order to stay awake and alive. As the day progresses, I sometimes hit a slump. Now, instead of grabbing another cup of coffee or a cola, I do some stretches, eat something high in protein, do some deep breathing, or get out for a bit of fresh air. Try some of these techniques yourself and see if they perk up your day. Blessings to you, Marj
Copyright 2005 by Marj McCabe. All Rights Reserved.
The next section talks about waking up and starting the day. "Upon awakening, I feel refreshed," means exactly what it says. Refreshed?! What a concept! What a miracle, to start a new day feeling refreshed from the previous night's sleep. If you're a survivor who's struggled with falling (and staying) asleep, you know what I'm talking about--how important this is. I used to sleep so poorly at night and then find it very difficult to drag myself out of the cozy, warm bed once the sun was up.
Before I had all my memories of the sexual abuse (much of which happened in my bed, at night, in the dark) I was baffled by my observation that any bed I attempted to sleep in transformed from a vehicle of torture in the dark, to a warm, toasty snuggle-spot in the daytime. There were many times over the years that I seriously considered getting a job somewhere on the graveyard shift so that I could sleep soundly during the day. What worked out so much better for me was doing the necessary trauma processing with a trauma expert. To find out how to locate a trauma processing expert for yourself, see the "Resources" section of my website.
The next line of A Day of Thriving speaks of being flooded with insights and optimism. Now, I'm not going to lie to you, this does not happen every morning. But, it happens often enough (now that I'm thriving) that I keep a pad and pen next to my bed so that I can record the great stuff that often bubbles up and into my awareness, right as the sun is coming up. And, speaking of the sun, now that I'm more of a morning person, I do enjoy a good sunrise quite often. Even if I'm jotting down a few notes in my morning journal, I take the time to look out my window to the east. I'm often rewarded with a gorgeous, crimson sky. It's a great way to start the day.
When I think of "starting" the day, I have to mention where I'm at now with coffee drinking. Back in my dissociated, sleep-disorder days, I would routinely consume six to eight cups of java a day. I don't think I'll ever completely eliminate caffeine from my diet, but I have cut down a great deal. Today, I enjoy just one morning mug of coffee. And, it's something I truly enjoy; not just some chemical I'm pumping into my veins in order to stay awake and alive. As the day progresses, I sometimes hit a slump. Now, instead of grabbing another cup of coffee or a cola, I do some stretches, eat something high in protein, do some deep breathing, or get out for a bit of fresh air. Try some of these techniques yourself and see if they perk up your day. Blessings to you, Marj
Copyright 2005 by Marj McCabe. All Rights Reserved.
