Searching for the Succulent

Searching for the Succulent

 

 

We dress her up.  We pin her up.  We touch her up.

We expect a poster, a magazine spread. 
We expect a woman not to age.  Not to change.

Where did we go wrong?  What happened? 
Where did we lose our perspective? 
When did we start teaching women that they were not good enough? 
That they had to change in order to be noticed. 

When did we start teaching women that they had to be noticed in order to have worth?

A resent study reported a significant increase in breast augmentation for 'women' age 13-19.  When I read this study my heart dropped.  What are we teaching our young? 

 

And when, as women, did we come to believe we had to change the female form in order to accept the female form?  In order to be beautiful.  Perfect.  Put together.  Confident? 

Why do we have to hold it all together in such a way that we are compared to the air brushed pictures we have come to emulate?  What happened to the succulent, wild woman that let her hair down?  That danced barefoot in the rain? 

We cover ourselves up with makeup.  We unground ourselves with heels.  We tummy tuck, get breast implants, botox, liposuction.  We wrap ourselves up in plastic.  We bake ourselves in tanning beds. 

We do all of this in order to present, and ultimately, to accept ourselves as beautiful. 

I understand we live in a culture where certain things are expected.  Taking care of ourselves out of self love is imperative.  Dressing up and presenting ourselves with confidence and beauty is an expression of self respect. 

 

Being a woman is about striking a balance between our soul-self and our expression of that self.  As a woman we have to pick and choose what represents who we really are.  What represents and reflects our Spirit and stay true to that. 

 

And the only way to do that is to know our Self. 

Not who culture tells us to be.  But who we really Are.  On the inside 

Sadly, our culture and, it seems, our belief systems about ourselves ask us to represent and reflect who we think we SHOULD be.  Expressed in our form.  Which, as culture would lead us to believe, defines our Essence, Spirit, Worth. 

Actually, we are created in such a way that our spirit and our body thrive on living honorably and being authentic.  I am sorry to say, our culture has long forgotten that. 

Our women need to ground.  We need to see more of the sacredness of women.  The real, raw, unapologetically authentic woman.  A beautiful mess of emotion and passion and heart.  A woman who grounds herself into Mother Earth.  A woman who considers and connects to her Spirit.  Her purpose.  The reason for her life on the planet.  A woman who is in touch with herself and gets a bigger picture of Life and Spirit and Sacredness.  A woman who is comfortable in her skin, in the temple that was created for her.  A woman that takes care of her form in a loving and honorable way. 

A woman who understands that it’s not about what heels you wear.  It’s about how you fill your shoes.  It’s about how you stand.  How you treat people.  How you treat yourself. 

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I want the wild.  I want the heart. 

I want her hair down and her heels off. 

 

I want the succulent, wild woman. Created in God’s perfect image. 

Just the way you are. 

The Courage to Stand

Red.  Red marks all over my Review of Systems.  

Headaches?  Check.

Migraines?  Check.  

Blurred vision?  Slurred Speech?  Seizures?  

Check. Check. Check.  

The poor girl couldn’t even lift her head on her own.  Her family positioned her wheel chair so that her head rested on the wall behind her.   Her hands would tremor randomly.  

“When did this all start?” I asked.  

“After the Gardasil Vaccine,” her mother responded.  

“How can I help you?”  I probed.    

“I don’t know,” came the mother’s reply.  

So we continued with the Review of Systems and the Assessment.  

There was pain all the way down her neck and back.  Any touch, even the whisper of a clothing tag, was excruciating.  Movement hurt.  Stillness hurt.  She was living in a prison of hurt.   

Lists of supplements and medications doctors want her on.  

Binders full of medical reports.  

Video footage documenting the progressive weakness, the body giving way as she collapsed into a wheel chair.  

She was an active honor roll student.  Enthusiastic.  Involved.  She wanted to go to college, wanted to be a journalist.  That was before the shot.  Before she fell.  Before she couldn't walk.  Before the tremors and seizures.  

Hannah’s body was deteriorating before our very eyes.  

No one could tell her why.  No one could stop it.  

There was little hope.  How could there be?  After countless doctors tell you it was permanent.

And yet, with all the documentation and diagnosing, we did not see any reason why her body would not make a full recovery.  No explanation as to why she couldn't or wouldn’t walk again.  

We know how the body works.  We know how to cleanse and purify it.  We know that the body is self healing and self regulating when given the opportunity.  

So we gave Hannah that opportunity.  

Detox.  

Chelation. 

Cleansing. 

Liver support.

Immune support.  

All the while she was getting foot baths and adjustments.  

Baby steps.

Not all at once.  

She cannot even hold her head up on her own, why do people think her body can detox, clear her liver, boost her immune system, balance her hormones, work on gait training and build strength and stability ALL AT THE SAME TIME?  

Three weeks into the program Hannah was building strength in her lower extremities.  
Three months into the program Hannah was more stable while standing.  

Three and a half months into the program, Hannah was walking.  

And she never stopped.  

There is still much more to do.  Much to strengthen.  

But I have never seen a more determined, courageous, and joyful woman seated or standing!

Blessings, Hannah.  

Aho.