My Healing Journey
October 2024
Have you ever considered the impact of trust, honesty and patience when it comes to the healing process? Recently, while sipping my tea, I came across this amazing quote: “The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson.
How is this particular quote relevant to healing, you might ask? And what does this have to do with skincare?
About two years ago, I began to experience eczema flares for the first time in my life. As a mom of two in my mid-thirties, this was quite unexpected. I had always thought of eczema as something you had from childhood on, not something you randomly developed as an adult. I wasn’t particularly bothered by it initially, but I was curious. What was this all about?
After I ruled out the possibility that I had simply run into some poison ivy while walking outside with my kids, I accepted the fact that this pesky, itchy nuisance was here to stick around (at least for a while).
Over the course of the past couple of years, I have had periods of intense, itchy rashes that kept me up at night, as well as periods of calm skin where I kind of forgot about eczema altogether. I have experimented with many things including: avoiding gluten and dairy, full-blown elimination diets, plant based diets, animal based diets, movement, sleep, meditation and breathwork, infrared saunas, immersing myself in nature, testing out various (natural & homemade) skincare products, keeping a food/lifestyle journal, you name it. Many of these practices have helped immensely, while some (such as overly restricting foods) have backfired. More on that in a future email!
I’ve learned that the healing process ultimately comes down to three things: trust, honesty and patience.
Trust: Our bodies are miraculous, self-healing mechanisms, and so often we get in the way. Trusting in our body’s ability to heal is the first step.
Honesty: When we take an honest inventory of what is and is not working in our lives, we enhance our self-awareness and can start to make confident, empowered choices. Keeping a simple food and lifestyle journal is a simple and effective way to practice being deeply honest with ourselves.
Patience: When we look to nature, we see the beauty and efficacy of patience. The acorn does not rush to become a mighty oak tree, just as the oak tree losing its leaves in the fall does so with grace. Everything happens in its own time in the divine perfection of creation. We are part of that creation. Our bodies know how to heal: sometimes it simply takes time, and there are often ebbs and flows. “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” - Lao Tzu
I’d love to hear from you: have you experienced something like this in your life? Whether it’s a skin condition, or something else entirely, what are some ways you can be more patient, trusting and honest with yourself as you allow the healing process to unfold?
Thanks for being here on this journey with me.
-Valerie