Tools for the Journey

Emotional healing is difficult work in the best of circumstances. I've found several tools that are necessary for the journey; some were familiar, while others were new to me:

1. There is no substitute for a friend/counselor to talk with about your growth. We all need someone to confide in, someone to bounce ideas off of, someone to fight for us even when we are ready to give up. Important qualities of a friend/counselor include their unconditional love for you and objective experience to draw upon.

2. A written journal is helpful, both as a historical record of your growth, but more importantly to help you process your discoveries. At times I have found that I was simply unable to move forward without writing. Other entries have become mileposts of growth that I can look back upon as I grow. Dreams are especially important to journal; they are a message from the subconscious. Even the meaningful ones are often difficult to remember.

3. The greatest emotional healing I have experienced has come from brain development enabled by the use of binaural beats. Binaural beats are the effect created by listening to different tones in each ear, similar to the "beats" heard when a guitar or piano is being tuned. Listening to binaural beat soundtracks through stereo headphones is like a workout for the brain. The brain adaps to each workout, developing mental and emotional speed and strength. This incremental growth has helped me achieve profound results.

4. Omega-3 Fatty Acids are the indispensable building blocks of the brain - it is hard to overstate the importance of this nutrient for dramatic healing and growth. Brain development by means of binaural beats uses up available stores of omega-3's, and unless these stores are replenished, additional growth will be blocked. Omega-3's have an anti-inflammatory effect on the body* involving the same pathways as modern drugs like ibuprofen. Unnecessary frustration and physical pain can be avoided by supplementing the diet with omega-3 fatty acids.

I recommend each of these tools for your growth. Indeed, I would not attempt the journey without any one of them.

Micro Loans

John and I have been micro loaning through Kiva for several years now thanks to a Christmas gift from Nathan & Lana Miller. All it takes is $25, though you could surely do more. You can the individual that you would like to loan to via the Kiva website.

What a great birthday gift idea for those little ones who have everything, and Christmas is closer than we know. :)

Haven't yet read this book One Hen - How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference, but am definitly going to be checking it out!

Review - Firegirl by Tony Abbott

   I say this book is a MUST read! It is told in first person by a 7th grader named Tom. Tom is a very authentic character, sharing with the reader his fears, uncertainties, fantasies, and reactions to the world around him. When a girl is transferred to his school to be closer to a hospital for the continued medical needs she has after being severally burned, Tom's views and understandings of his world are shaken.

  I loved this book because it excites me how kids could see Tom's character handling these situations and can put themselves in his place. Reading this book with a classroom or with kids in the home could open up many doors to the thoughts and feelings that the kids (and adults) are having about those that are different than others.

  I loved this book because I saw myself in the girl who was burned. I am blessed that I am back to "normal" after the accident that I was in on December 11, 2006, but things linger... One thing that lingers is the feelings I had being in a wheel chair, using a walker, on crutches, a cane, or just being slower than everyone else. Feelings that I am not wanted, am not good enough, and that it is too hard emotionally to reach out to others.

  It isn't easy to reach out to someone who is different than you, especially as a kid, but face it, this is true for adults as well. BUT as hard as that is, I promise you, it is harder being the person who is different to reach back

Storm, May 22, 2011

One man's tornado story

Review - Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

This is the Medal winner from 1995, Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech, that I finished reading recently. This book chronicles a 13 year old girl's road trip with her grandparents. Along the way she shares her friend's story and her own with her grandparents. The title Walk Two Moons comes from the saying, "Don't judge a man until you've walked two moons in his moccasins." The book will open up discussions about seeing life from someone else's point of view, even your parents.

Newbery Books

I am currently growing my collection of children's literature with books that have won the Newbery Medal Award or the Newbery Honor Award. This award began in 1922, and to date (2010) 380 books have won. I have currently read 63 of these books, and own approximately 15 more that I have yet to read. I began this challenge several years ago while teaching upper elementary. I want children to read books that are good literature, and this is hard to do if you yourself know nothing about the book.

I currently own none of the winning books before 1935.

Trip to Missouri

Greetings to all. Well it has been several weeks since I returned from my trip to Kansas City, MO, where I got to spend lots of time with my family, visited some "old" teachers, and saw several friends (though not enough of them, as is always the case). This is my favorite picture of my brother Jacob, me & my girl Becky. We called it our model pose, though I think the two of them have a much better chance than I do. :) My parents and I spent an afternoon with my Grandma and Papa, who are doing well considering their getting older and Papa refusing to leave the farm. I sat in a chair by my grandfather and he kept nudging me with his foot when he had something else to have me read (excerpts from newspapers, church bulletins, etc), or to look at (he has many pictures beside his chair) or something to tell me - though there is a slim chance that he will hear any of my responses because he doesn't want to wear the hearing aids. A new addition to the farm is the puppy my grandma is calling Frisky. She fits right in because she can not hear either.   There were many special times during this trip home, and I am happy to say that I went through most of it sans cane. This represents a new chapter - that I am working through the mental era of needing the cane (my therapists said I was strong enough in March). This recovery has been a long road, but I have not ever stopped, I just continue to go at my own pace. The last picture is the smaller one of the TWO wood piles that my dad has been working on this winter, spring & summer.