Go To The Water

 

I recently did a podcast episode called Permanent Tattooed Lessons.

Even though each podcast episode has been my favorite, this one I really enjoyed sharing with the T+G community. I spoke about the meaning and the stories behind each tattoo that I have. There were five stories that I told, and today I want to share with you my sixth story.

I like to think of my tattoos as beautifully illustrated pictures that come from a story book. Like when we were young, and we loved seeing beautiful illustrations that helped carry out the message a little bit better. These are my illustrations. These are my stories that I believe are worth remembering.

This particular one is my smallest.

But goodness it was a big lesson.

I recently shared on the podcast, that I have been seeing a counselor. And as always, it has been the best. I began going just a few weeks after our newest babe was born, and the peeling back of layers of past trauma and insecurities began. During this process, I would write in my journal about wanting to go to the water. It didn't matter what body of water it was. 

Hot tub. Swimming pool. Lake. Hearing the ocean waves crash. Hiking to a waterfall. Listening to water drip from the rocks by the creek. Listening to rain. Heck... I even went so far to asking my husband to build us a stock tank pool for our backyard.

After going back and reading some of my journal entries, I realized that every time I was craving the water, I had also written down how stressed I was. How I was anxious or exhausted. Maybe there was some postpartum blues going on. Maybe that crushing feeling of pressure on my chest was happening.

And I realized the water calmed me. It was my happy spot. My body and mind were craving stillness and peace. I could hear my creator more clearly. I could leave from that special spot, feeling like I could take deeper breaths. Feeling clarity in my head.

I felt like this was such an important tool to remember to use. Nature has medicinal effects on the humans mind, body and soul. And water is one of those special elements for me. So without sounding too much like Moana, I realized that whenever I felt the pressure creeping up it was now my job to use this tool, and "go to the water". 

Whatever body of water I can find, go to it. Run to it. 

For it provides a cleansing and washing of the mind.