“First do what is necessary,” wrote Saint Francis of Assisi. “Then do what is possible. And before you know it you are doing the impossible.” The journey of recovering from being drained is complex and convoluted. There is no straight pathway with clear and definitive stages. Instead, it has many choices, twists, and turns. However, in time and with patience, the way will open and recovery will take place.
In the beginning, we must embrace the words of Carl Jung: “Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakes.” To awaken to a better way of living and working, we need to create a holistic self-care plan and reduce our cognitive load. Next, we need to find community and to create boundaries. We also need to study a variety of resources on a daily basis to gain better perspective and new insights. The combination of all these things will then give us an opportunity to rediscover our own inner strength. When we awaken this level of awareness and understanding, our vision will become clear about how to proceed and our choices along this new path will also become clear.
As we move along this new path and rediscover our inner strength, we also must remember something Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D. wrote: “… there is no ending without a beginning. That beginnings and endings are always right up against each other.” Recovery from being drained will involve both endings and new beginnings. It will be work, and at the exact same time, it will be work worth doing. For when we come to understand and trust our inner strength, we can work through these transitions and generate a healthy and vibrant new way of working and living. The first step is the hardest. But each step is movement in the right direction to a new beginning.
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