When you decide to sit opposite an emotionally attuned therapist, something powerful happens.
Sharing your habits, patterns, worries, challenges, fears and deepest longings with someone who has never met you, yet chooses to know you from a place of curiosity, compassion and non-judgment, allows a deep transformation to occur.
Parts of yourself, that up until those moments of meeting have not yet entered the external world, begin to emerge, from beneath the blanket of the night sky, as though ushered out gently by the light of dawn.
Many times, these parts have been judged, shamed, denied or even feared. To call them forth prematurely could result in an abandonment as devastating as death. To own them might risk a rejection which counters and prevents the belonging that is craved. It may threaten our loyalty to our ancestors.
To invite them forward in the presence of another requires immense courage and trust, as their rejection has often been hardwired at a very tender age. This invitation heralds the beginning of a journey home to wholeness, across some potentially rugged terrain, and is yet one of the most worthwhile travel adventures you could possibly book.
Your therapist does not demand you follow their career path, or one that they chose for you. They do not insist you share the same food, hobbies or sporting interests. There is no expectation that you will keep your house the way your Mother did or that you will phone your Aunt every Sunday.
They are your passenger as you become the tour guide. They have no agenda other than to discover who you are and help you discover the meaning you make of your life in this moment.
They will hold space for you, listen to your language and help you hear the deepest, and often softest, cries of your heart.
What’s not to love about an adventure like that?