The safety of the meadow

If we’re teetering on the edge of a cliff, we’re going to want the immediate intervention that stops us from falling. A guardrail that halts our destructive momentum.

But the same guardrail that stops our fall may not necessarily teach us how to walk back to the safety of the meadow on our own two feet. And eventually, if we keep running at it full speed, it will weaken and it will break.

In the ways we have normalized physical rehab for injuries and invasive surgeries, we need to normalize and prioritize digestive rehab for medicated conditions and disease.

Which sources of nourishment—food, water, breath, emotions, experiences, and relationships—are the most healing to us and our unique nature?

How can we honor and protect the functions of our inner self the way we do our outer self?

And like proper exercise, how do we keep ourselves from needing to lean against the guardrail in the first place?

For some of us, those guardrails may never be retired. But the goal isn’t just that we don’t fall. The goal is to make sure we’re as far away from the cliff as possible, enjoying the beauty and serenity of the meadow for as long as we can.