Untangling Knots
I really like metaphors. I find I tend to understand the world around me better when I can conceptualize it, and I don’t think I’m alone. I think we learn by relating to things we already know. This way new concepts become a bit simpler to understand, but as we grow we begin to understand things in our own way.
I especially love using metaphors when I’m talking about homeopathy and healing with my clients. Being presented with an opportunity to explain a homeopathic concept or a question a client has about their healing always ends up being a teaching moment for me. What I know is solidified through teaching and so on and so fourth. It’s a beautiful “pass it on” sort of process. I explain to my clients what I know, how I know it, in a way that makes sense to me, they pass this on to someone else in a way that makes sense to them. It’s a lovely ripple effect. Often, I get the same questions that come one appointment after another. I love those little synchronicities, and the more I notice them, the more I see them.
Today, as I was getting ready for my day, I was thinking about something I say often when a client asks me “how long is this going to take to heal?” My question is often, “how long have you been affected by this?”
It’s kind of like leaving a necklace in your purse and finding it months later. The longer the necklace has been in that pocket, or has been traveling around the bottom with the bobby pins and crumpled receipts, usually, the more tangled the chain becomes. Healing deep patterns or wounds can be a lot like untangling that knot.
Now, say throwing the whole thing away isn’t an option… Say, this is a beloved fine, gold chain. How do you approach the knot? From experience, yanking on it impatiently only tends to make things worse. Though, sometimes this happens. I find it best to hold it in my hands, examine it, and then chain by fine chain, I begin to tease it out. Often, if the necklace has been exposed to a lot of jostling and movement, we find there is more than one knot. In the process of pulling it apart, we may notice that in order to get to the big knot, we have to first untangle all the little knots around it. Sometimes we need to take breaks, come back to it when we feel calmer and more patient. But if we work with it gently, patiently, lovingly, eventually the knot comes out. Oftentimes, kinks are left in the chain, evidence that the necklace has been well-worn, subject to wear and tear, to being jostled around.
Healing ourselves is a lot like this. It requires our patience, gentleness toward our wounds, our patterns, our damaging thinking. It requires that we cherish them like a beloved fine, gold chain. To remember that the knot isn’t the enemy, it’s not separate from the necklace, but it also is not the necklace. To remember that the longer the necklace has been jostled around, or the longer we have suffered from our wounds, our knots, the longer it can take to get them out.
Illness, imbalance, wounds, patterns, however you see it, they’re a part of life, a symptom of our being human. Just like necklaces and knots, humanness and symptoms go hand in hand. But I find it’s best when approached with gentleness, patience, and knowing one day, though not all at once, that knot will become untangled.
Need a little help with that knot?
Or maybe, just a fresh perspective? Whatever is ailing you, homeopathy can be a great helping hand. Homeopathic medicine takes a whole-person approach to health, which means we treat people, not diseases or diagnoses. The concept comes from the idea that the sum is greater than it’s parts, and it’s best to look at the whole picture instead of addressing one aspect of your health. Your mind, spirit, and physical body are all connected, so why shouldn’t we treat them all together?
If this piqued your interest or resonated with you in some way and you’d like to add homeopathy to your self-care practice, drop me a note! I’m happy to answer any questions you may have! Also, if you think someone would enjoy reading this article, please send it to them! Word-of-mouth is one of the best ways for me to grow my practice and you never know who you may be helping!