Charleston Mercury
Charleston Mercury
We all have experienced the intense wave of relief that the night waking up in the raw and vulnerable deep comes alive after a terrible nightmare. In the first moments Retreat into the darkest corners of the subconscious mind release. Nightmares gradually fade as the night itself leaves us breathless and clinging to the first rays the life-dawn. Dreams are symbolic representations of our deepest fears and repressed memories and the wildest desires, those hidden parts of us we do not dare to explore into the world.
In the ominous shadow of a nightmare we are humble and pure – are grateful for the smallest blessings we normally take for granted. We regress to a childlike state, as we scan our surroundings carefully, with comfort in the familiar sights and sounds that we know, it was after all only a bad dream. When the light of day back and our defenses are restored, the last remnants of the dream together dissolve with the voices of the deepest soul. They are awakened by the voices of dreams and the voices that call us back to the true essence of who we are and remind us what really matters. as the rhythmic rise and fall of a loved one the breath and the comfort of home.
At this time of Thanksgiving, it feels appropriate to the concept of Gratitude and the symbolic representations of which reflect daily blessings we often take for granted. The roof over your head, food on our Table, the clothes on his back and loved ones, who stand beside us in life walk-all symbolic of our happiness and abundance. Even in the darkest hour, when the financial threatening emergency or disappointment or agonizing pain to consume the soul that we are surrounded by symbols of joy and security and abundance. If we our Eyes open, we can always find the comfort we need in the most unlikely places, like the kindness of a stranger or the warmth of a friend. If all else fails and we are really lost at sea without a compass, we need to for a while surrender and trust that the universe provide an answer when the time is ripe.
Some months ago I woke up on Saturday morning to find that my engagement ring and wedding ring were missing. I turned my house upside down but the rings were nowhere to be found. I returned again and again visited every place that I had on the day the rings were missing. I put a police report and prayed for a miracle. I played over and over inside my head, the last Moments I could remember to wear the rings, before she disappeared. I searched my car and removed the bath water trap. My husband ordered a week worth of garbage. At the vet's recommendation, we even spotted by our dog stool for a week. And finally, when denial turned to anger and grief and sadness transforms rage turned to acceptance, I handed and left me believing that the rings were indeed lost forever. With the handover came clarity, and I was finally on the essential focus-what constitute the rings, rather than the rings. The rings symbolize love, honor and commitment and the circle of life, the things that we are not in dollars and can measure cents. These are the things that burn eternally long after we are gone. And then a funny thing happened. The universe delivered a miracle, and the rings were I returned in the most unlikely possibilities. Thanks to the honesty and integrity of a woman named Bonnie and the deep sympathy of a woman named Gladys, were the rings return safely delivered into my hands. If Bonnie had not gone outside that day with the eyes and heart wide open, and if Gladys had not taken the time to to listen with compassion to another person, the story of loss and despair, the rings would have disappeared forever, leaving an emptiness in my heart.
Like most wedding rings and wedding rings, rings represent my promises a lifetime of memories and precious promises that are yet to be met our relationship and the many obstacles we have to fight, and continue to face together. Sometimes, when to do nothing but surrender, provides the universe is a miracle and then, as if waking from a bad dream, we are here a second chance. I am grateful that I lost my rings, because it is only in its absence, that I am in a position to to understand its true value in my life, and this is perhaps the greatest gift of all.
Risa Mason-Cohen is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice on Daniel Island, S.C., a regular columnist/travel writer with the Charleston Mercury and an aspiring author. You may contact her at 843-769-0444 or http://www.risamason.com. You may also follow her columns at http://www.charlestonmercury.com
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