The path goes directly into the trees.

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

My companion and I have been walking on dry ground for a while now. It isn't as scary as it was, since we now have some distance between us and the mud. I really do have to thank my travelling partner, they have kept me safe and I have not slipped back into the mud, even though I tried hard to a couple of times. 

We are on that flat ground with a nice path, green grass on both sides. The smell of the flowers in the meadow lifts our spirits. But the meadow is coming to an end. 

The path goes directly into the trees. 

I am not sure if this is going to be a grove of trees or a deep dark forest, I cannot see the forest for the trees, it is a mystery to me. 

I am getting better at focusing on the future and not looking back into the past. The tapes are almost completely silent at the moment. I hear a little murmuring in the background but that is all, no audible words are heard.

I had done my Chappy work with Betty, it was harder than expected. I think we were both emotionally spent by the time we finished. I have taken the list she made of the old horrible tapes that would assault her inner child self; the one that can't fight back. I am going to burn that list in the fire.   

I am sending that list back to the hell it came from!

Betty has a new list now. That list is full of all the beautiful wonderful things that the grownup Betty has told to the child Betty. 

The list was hard for her to write. She had a hard time at first separating her adult self from her child self. I had to resort to an old trick of pulling out a picture of another kid and told her to say all those horrible things to that kid. She told me no, that she would refuse to do that.

I said ok, what would you say to that kid? That got her writing. Once she got to writing she was able to transfer to her child self and separate her adult self from her child self.

This is what she wrote:

• You are beautiful!
• You are smart!
• You are funny!
• You are a great sister!
• You are an awesome friend!

She paused and said, I can't think of anything else to tell this little girl.

I asked if I could add a couple of things?

Betty said, "Yes."

So I added:

• You are going to grow up to be a great mom, a wonderful wife!
• You are going to grow up and positively impact many kids, showing them the love they didn't get at home! 
• You are gifted!
• I love you!

I then asked her to look at the picture of her as a child and tell that child what she wrote, what that child always needed to hear. 

Betty did.

I then asked Betty to tell that little girl those things again, only this time with emotion behind the words. I want you to mean it. 

Betty did.

I have to tell you it was a cry fest!

I took the old list and kept it.

She took the new list and it is never to be apart from her. 

Whenever the evil voices come back she is to read that list to her inner child self. And fight for that kid!

Just telling you about it is hard. 

We talked about not looking back. 

We talked about looking into the future.

She said, "The future is scary. I don't know what will happen."

I told her something a friend told me once, "The definition of depression is, 'Something bad has happened and it is never going to get better; there is no hope.' The definition of anxiety is, 'something bad is about to happen and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it."

Depression is bad and Anxiety sucks.

I told her to focus on the good things in the future, the things she is looking forward to. 

I told her not to dwell on the bad things that could happen.

I gave her my life verse, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." (Col 3:1-2)

In the words of Dr. Shaw, "Roger, you already know all this stuff, you just need to eat your own dog food."

I think Betty is in a better space now. there is obviously more work to be done, but at least now she has some weapons to use against the evil one. 

The problem with the mud is when you get stuck in it, you forget. You forget who you belong to and what your purpose is. 

We are headed to the trees, that is where our path is taking us. I don't know if it is a grove or a forest. I do know that I cannot see the other side. 

I am glad I have my travelling companion, I think between the two of us we will be just fine.

Where are you on your journey? 

Something to ponder.

Blessings,

Roger