Back in September 2013 (I know, it takes me forever to post things!), we honored a whole month of forgiveness. One of the events was a Writing Class with Heather Marshall.
I loved Heather’s class. There were several parts to the class. The first part was about writing about your safe space as if you were that place. You were to write about what the place smelled like, what color it was, what texture it would be like. So I didn’t follow the directions exactly (imagine that), but I still enjoyed what I wrote.
I am strong and green.
I am smooth and large.
I am the life of the jungle.
I am hot and steamy.
I am the droplets you will feel on your skin.
I am the fierce tiger strong and soft, the guardian of the soul.
I am the panther, dark velvet fur, sleek and with glowing eyes.
I am that which you can not see.
I am the protector of the soul.
I am the strength that builds you up.
The jungle is a place of strength, rebirth, ferociousness and relentlessness. The jungle has the ability to heal. It is a place of beauty and magic.
Like the jungle I am strong and colorful yet like the jungle I am vulnerable to the needs and desire of man. As the jungle needs a protector to help rebuild what man has destroyed, so do I. My strength flows like the water of the Amazon, sometimes slow and steady, sometimes deadly and sometimes fierce but always there to guide me through.
In the beginning I was broken into so many pieces that I wished I was dead. My heart and soul were so badly damaged and I walked around in a dazed fog. I am a strong woman but all my strength left me and I felt totally hopeless and alone.
Almost 3 years later, I feel that my feet are more grounded. My heart and soul are pieced together like a beautiful mosaic art piece. Although it will never be the same again there is beauty in its new look.
I have been told this will make me stronger and that in the long run I will be thankful for the journey. I don’t know how much I like or believe this but I do believe that things happen for a reason. According to a friend, the universe was trying to tell me something and I was not listening. Since I am stubborn, the universe had to scream at me to get my attention.
I do feel that this journey has helped me to understand people better and to relate with them on a different level. I hope that my light, strength and joy comes across stronger than before. I hope that all of those who struggle, feel pain or loneliness can find their safe place and what that might look and feel like.
This part of the class was a reminder for me that I am strong, I am a survivor and that like the jungle, I will re-emerge more colorful than ever.