Leaving Normal Behind

I read the following quote on a friends Facebook page tonight:

Darkness is an unlit wick;
it just needs Your touch, Beloved, to become a sacred flame.
~ St. Francis of Assisi

I was immediately drawn to this quote because, as I read it, it spoke to the reality of struggle and the “mess” of life, yet also to the hope (and responsibility) I have as a believer in Christ. This hope provides an opportunity for any situation or relationship to be redeemed …

But I don’t want to give the wrong impression … I don’t live in a daily “darkness”. At least not anymore. I might have for a while. (We often tend to whitewash the past, hmmm?) Besides, I tend to like grays better than black and white … so I need to hedge a bit anyways.

Today is Thursday so I visited Dianne (my counselor) this afternoon. Today’s session ranks either 2nd or tied for 1st in terms of emotion. Definitely 1st in terms of longevity of emotion. I’m thinking this might be good. Maybe? My assignment for today was to create two more collages: one on death (focusing on the ones from high school) and the second on work.

The entire time was spent reviewing every image, word, and phrase I chose. From the literal use of the term to its imagery to double-entendre meanings and expanding its use/application over the various phases I created. I enjoy the process of discussing each collage. I am able to see more nuance and depth than my original or literal usage. Creating the collage is slowly becoming more enjoyable. (I have now completed four.)

Both collages were pretty complex today. We again talked about the impact of the high school trauma on my emotional and physical reaction to stress at work. It’s very interesting and rather overwhelming to consider. It literally makes my head and eyes hurt! But then again, I didn’t wear my glasses today and they’re out of date anyway … so, maybe that was part of the problem Anyway, I seem to be up a creek! My assignment for Saturday is to make as many correlations/comparisons as possible between the two collages. Whew! I better get busy!

Strangely enough … I am having more trouble with staying on time and task during this time off than ever before. How in the world does that happen?!