My five year old daughter moonlights as a doctor when she's not busy with kindergarten responsibilities.
Saturday, I was called in to assist her in surgery as both nurse and anesthesiologist (I was so honored!!).
Her stuffed octopus was in need of emergency surgery for cranial repair, as Daddy had pushed the poor toy off the bed. 😳 What a meanie.🙄
I scrubbed in, administered the sleep shot (or whatever it's called), and settled in to watch the doctor go to work.
And she did. She ran in with a Bluey bandaid and slapped it right on top of the octopus's head. A bandaid! I mean, this was fine for the little stuffed guy, but I expected more from head surgery.
Then it DAWNed on me - how often do we settle for superficial remedies in our own lives? How often are we facing something complex and applying a simple solution when we need to go deeper?
Healing isn't about slapping on a bandaid and hoping for the best. It's about confronting the root causes of our pain and addressing them head-on, even when it's uncomfortable or challenging.
Just like my daughter's makeshift surgery on her beloved toy, sometimes we need to take a step back and reassess our approach to healing. Are we truly giving ourselves the time, attention, and resources we need to heal properly? Or are we settling for quick fixes that only provide temporary relief?
Take Imposter Syndrome, for instance. Often times I see thought work lauded as the solution - change your thoughts, affirm yourself, surround yourself with good people who will cheer you on, etc. But what I've found as an Imposter Syndrome Survivor is that I couldn't change my thoughts or effectively affirm myself until I found and understood why I held negative stories about my self worth. Then I had to learn the triggers that reactivated these stories. After this preparation, the work of healing effectively begins. Affirmations land easier when there is no contrary truth. We can accept validation because we're no longer holding onto dark thoughts that we are not enough.
Perhaps it's time to adopt a more holistic approach to healing—one that acknowledges the depth of our wounds and commits to the necessary work of true transformation. Identity work is that kind of healing process. Learning who you are - your strengths, your wounds, the true essence of how a loving Creator designed you is magical.
Just like my daughter's octopus, we all deserve to be stitched up with care and attention to ensure our wounds heal properly, leaving us stronger and more resilient than before.
B.A.L.M. is an excellent starting point. Learn more here.
You've just been Love 💕 Balmed. Take good care of you.
~Ashley C