Like Water for Restoration...

 

A week or so ago, my friend posted this photo to Facebook.  It's a photo he took from the boardwalk, on the sound side in Duck, NC during Thanksgiving week.  After he posted the picture, I couldn't get it out of my mind, and asked him if I could use it for one of my quote pics.  Very kindly, he sent me copies.  

The problem is, I can't find the right words to go with this picture.  I looked up quotes about winter, about Christmas, about nature, and peacefulness... and it took me a while, but I finally realized why I couldn't find the right words:  Because this photo elicits emotion, not quotable words of wisdom. 

Do you have the perfect quote to go with this picture? Ask yourself, what words does this picture summon to your mind?  Then ask yourself, what emotions does it elicit? 

As beautiful as this photograph is, I feel mournful when I look at it.  And I've looked at it a lot...  I've stared at it, studied it, and ended up lost in it.  There's a sadness to this picture that I can't get around.  It's stark, grey, and chilly.  It's the relief and fatigue of a bustling holiday town, not just during any off season, but during this off season; after the summer of 2020, the summer we did battle with a global pandemic, and didn't quite manage to win... There's peaceful solitude, but there's also loneliness, as if that dock can personally relate to every one of us who is missing someone this holiday season, but who is also able to gratefully reflect on what they have endured and survived. There's a miniscule glimmer of hope, as if the tiny, unlit tree, perched out at the end of the dock is a brave overture, an attempt to consider celebrating Christmas, when it seems like there may be little to celebrate. 

There's something else that this picture does for me:  It restores me, and allows me to feel peace and serenity.  

I consider myself an empath; basically I'm an emotion & energy sponge.  I'm highly sensitive to, I absorb, and I'm greatly affected by the emotions and energy of those who are around me. As an empath, I struggle with being able to tolerate anger and negativity.  This kind of energy completely exhausts me.  But water - all kinds of water - heals me and restores the energy that is sapped by my own hyper-sensitivity.  

Last year, we got a new roof on our house.  It was the aluminum roof... I didn't want that kind of roof and I fought it, tooth and nail.  However, that particular roof is one of the best things to happen to me in recent years!  There is absolutely nothing that soothes me to sleep like the sound of rain on the roof! This past summer, we went for a hike.  It turned out to be a very stressful hike, because it was long, the trail was not well blazed, mile upon mile of the trail was lined with stinging nettles, and there was a great deal of angst and occasional (understatement) complaining (aka, 'negativity') among the hike participants.  Unlike most woodland hikes, this was not remotely tranquil.... but something saved me, and by the end of the hike, it became one of my favorites of all time.  You see, throughout the hike, we had to cross a creek over 14 times.  Actually, it was more like a river.  With rapids.  And each time, I crossed the creek, my body and soul felt replenished and ready to tackle the next stretch of the trail. 

Perhaps all of this is why I've been so drawn to this photograph, and why I'm so reluctant to attach a particular sentiment to it.  Any one of you may have a different response to it, or it may provide just what you need in the moment that you interact with it. 

To be honest, I'm not really sure what the point of today's blog actually is.  More of a reflection, perhaps? By sharing this picture, and what it means to me, maybe I can encourage you to identify what restores you in these moments... because many of the moments that we have experienced over the last nine months have been far from tranquil - much like the hike.

Finally, I think another reason why this photograph grabbed my attention was because of this next pic, which I took last Christmas while at my mom's for a couple of days.  I bet you will find that a similar emotion connects you with this one, just as I do. 

In any case, as we head in to a time of year that is usually filled with hustle and bustle, and that promises to be more stressful than ever, allow yourself to follow the voice of what calls to you.  Maybe it will be a photograph that someone posts on Facebook, or perhaps a conversation that you have with a coworker, a slow walk in fresh snow, a moment sitting in an empty church, or some simple, quiet minutes drinking your morning coffee beside the lit Christmas tree...  

Whatever it is, take a moment to find restoration.  Take care of you.  💖🌊🌍🌈🍂🌱🎄⛄🌝🌙