A Positive Thought for Today

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this thought but if it isn't the admin can move it to the appropriate location.

Everyday I read these posts and my heart literally aches as I see new members coming here for help and support. As I thought about that last night before I went to sleep, an image came into my mind that I wanted to share with everyone here and I hope it helps everyone feel better.

I recently took a hike through an area that had been burned by a wildfire about 3 years ago. It was depressing at first to see all the devastation, of the burned trees that remained standing and would never be the same or ever be able to grow again because they were burned so badly. I imagined birds and other animals who lost their homes and their lives.  I imagined what that fire must have been like going through the area.  The silence following the roar of that fire going through there must have been almost deafening and very depressing.

But then I stopped and noticed something else more important...the new growth that was taking place!  It was beautiful to see small trees beginning to grow right next to the burnt trees, flowers had blossomed, birds were singing and as I stood there, I saw a deer, walking in the distance.  How wonderful that was to behold.

That is how it is and can be for us who are living in the "fire" of our SMs.  It is devastating what a SM has done to our lives, to be rejected by the one who promised us they would always love and care about us.  That pain is almost too much to bear sometimes, especially as we live it (our burning fire) every day.

But in the aftermath of our broken hearts (the burned trees), the changes that we have to go through, there is new growth happening to us.  And even though our burned trees (broken and devastated hearts) are still standing, charred and damaged,  we here are growing new flowers and trees (new hearts) as we have allowed each other to become a part of our lives.  And one day, the birds will return to sing and we will develop new loving, trusting relationships and the forest (our lives) will again come alive and be beautiful.

I know, because I'm still in my SM, that none of this is easy or painless and that each of us are going at different rates through this process.  But if you can put this image of the burned out forest and the recovery that happens after EVERY SINGLE wildfire in your mind, even on the hardest days (when the wildfire is raging), I think it would help us all to get through this. 

I don't know why this thought popped in my head last night, but I hope it is an inspiration for all of us here.  When I stopped and thought about it, I have even had growth and change in my life in the past year, thanks to so many of you who I cherish here.  I hope we are able to always keep this forum, for it is truly a place for people to come to, to share their pain, to heal and to recover and grow.

I hope you each have a wonderful day!