An amazing job

While taking a walk in a local park just the other day, I came upon this lil creature.

He was making his way ever so slowly across the moss. I decided to take some time to watch him as he moved, carrying his home on his back. He seemed at such ease as he appeared to glide over the lushness of the moss. I so wanted to touch him. To tell him he was doing such an amazing job making his way in life. However, I knew if I did indeed touch him it would startle him and potentially cause him to retreat into his shell.

Now, looking at the photos, I am considering the analogies of my “snail thoughts” to thoughts I have in my life and my practice.

When asked about my life, many want to know my professional life.  I have never really been the type of person to put myself on a pedestal and proclaim my life’s work, preferring to stay mostly inside my shell. However, recently I was asked by a client “What type of nursing did you do?” As I listed off the different departments I was once a part of, I realized … WOW, you have been out there! Life has gone faster than you thought – not really at a snails pace at all. You have had an amazing life.  You have experienced a lot in the years you have spent on this earth. And now here you are doing something you are REALLY good at, AND throughly enjoy as well!

Many times I am simply watching, observing how people hold their body’s and how they move. Sometime I meet a client who is not quite sure what it is that I do, or maybe not quite sure why they are asking to be on my treatment table. Explaining what it is that I actually “do” during a session can be a challenge to explain sometimes. Partially because many times the sessions are very fluid and I am not preplanning what I am doing, my hands simply do the work (so to speak) without my mind necessarily engaging in the act. There are moments I might explain more than a person is ready to hear and they “retreat into their shell”, unsure about scheduling that initial appointment, or that follow-up appointment just yet. (In this instance I may have touched that snail and caused the retreat into the shell after all.)

There are moments I recall hearing clients reactions to sessions – sensations experienced, memories recalled, and more – as they lay on the table, not wanting to really move once the session is finished. And then there is that serene appearance on the faces of clients when our time together is complete.

Many times I am in awe at the work completed during our time together, and often I tell clients they have done an amazing job making their way in life and listening to what their body has to tell them.