Unexpected Gifts

Life is busy these days. It is probably the same for you. And while I am very good at planning, and creating “white space” in my life, this is a season of very tight schedules for me, as I work with my beloved clients in my private practice and also work toward completing my PhD in mind-body medicine. Sometimes, the other things in my life feel challenging—hard to fit into this schedule. And sometimes, it is those very things that will turn the day inside out and remind me of how grateful I am to be fortunate enough to be in this field.

Today was such a day. I went up to the Hope Connections for Cancer center, as I do each month, to do an informal EFT group session. It is a way to give this away at no charge, and I love being a part of the Center. It is a bit of a drive, and takes a few hours from beginning to end—time I never seem to have at this point in the semester. So up I went today, nonetheless, and there was a lovely group of people ready to learn and experience EFT together.

Some were new to the practice, some were old hands. One woman was just recently diagnosed with breast cancer, had come through a surgery, and was terribly afraid of what might happen next. One young man had gone through a year’s worth of chemotherapy, surgery, and now was in post-treatment recovery, but the side effects of the treatment had caused a wholesale failing of his nervous system, according to his medical team, and he was in constant, terrible pain, experienced weakness, and many other concerns. Another was experiencing the impending loss of a person who is dear to her, and other had pain in one foot. And so we began. Weaving together the threads of fear and pain and frustration and weakness….we worked together as a group. One by one, we checked in. The pain was shifting, was lessened. The fear was calmed. The loss of the friend was still in process but there was a sense of peace and a quiet release—it was ok to let him go. On and on, around the circle we went, crying, calming, and then even laughing as we watched ourselves, tapping on the tops of our heads…here in buttoned up Washington, DC. And again the pain lessened, the smiles came out, like sunshine from behind clouds. I was part of the circle, helping, with all of the others, to ease the pain. EFT was working through each of us, allowing for healing to come.

I am again humbled by this remarkable tool, and by the gift that it brings to us. I am again reminded of how incredibly fortunate I am to be able to do this every day, with gifted souls who entrust me with their fragile, beautiful lives.