Mural in lunette by Charles Sprague Pearce
“One day a client oozed into my office, slumped into a chair, and said she was depressed—only she said it so slowly that I thought she said “deep rest.” In a way, this was accurate. Depression can be part of a general shutdown, meant to turn us toward healing. A tired body, a tired mind, a tired heart can’t—and shouldn’t—be passionate about anything but rest. So if you’re exhausted, care for yourself.”–Martha Beck, “How to Find Your Passion,” O Magazine
Thank you all who read and responded with your stories, thoughts, and “spacious” wisdom to my last post: Ladies: Are You Feeling the Blues?
It’s been my vision to use this blog in part as a platform for us (women and men) to feel safe enough to tell our stories – sharing both the triumphs and challenges of clearing what no longer serves and supports us. I maintain that when we can name and feel the “not-so-spacious” part of ourselves as it arises – without personalizing it – we create powerful openings for the holding patterns to soften and release more naturally.
In that spirit I share one of the responses I received on Facebook to “Ladies: Are You Feeling the Blues.” Here it is:
As a woman who spent 40+ years depressed, at times clinically depressed, it is no surprise to emerge and see that there is an epidemic going on. When we are depressed, we feel totally alone in the world, it is hard to relate outside. Women in general thrive in relationship to other beings, and if that is anyhow distorted, chances are excellent that there will be some unhappiness. It takes work to get our relationships to other beings to be realistic and loving, and while one is depressed it is very, very hard to engage in that work.
I have heard depressed put as “deep rest”….so likely that women have huge expectations on themselves to not only be successful in the outer world, but lots of pressure as mothers etc. That is a tall, tall order. BURN OUT. This society has lost touch with the simple ways. The more advanced we become technologically, the faster things move and the less in touch we become: IF WE LET THAT HAPPEN, to our own tender souls. It takes CONSCIOUS work sometimes as challenging as a crippled person trying to relearn to walk, to decide to journey back to ourselves and actually DECIDE to not be undone by our unhappiness. I’ve been around the block with healing modalities and at some point there is a line in the sand that is drawn, and an active commitment to heal, or not.
Having said that, the mere fact that women are feeling unhappy means that on some levels they are taking a very important call from the divine workings of their soul. When they wake up from their sleep, they will have been given an important message. Hopefully they can come back and share that wisdom with others and be touchstone to those in the black of night.”
– Martha Bennett
If you have a story you’d like to share on this blog about your spacious and not-so-spacious journey, click the “Ask Stephanie” header tab above and I’ll post it in a future blog. You can share anonymously too if you like.
