Restoration

Hello Readers 'Restoration' is such a beautiful word. Is has implications of mending that which is broken, healing hurts, bringing the beauty back to something/some-one who has become hidden behind the wears and tears of life. For the last month or two I have been working on a restoration project on the villa where I work. It has involved a process of bringing the front of the house back to the bare wood, filling the holes and gaps, sanding off the bumps and rough edges. One day as I was working I found underneath the paint the number 20, in large numerals, stamped onto the wood. It had been hidden under there for many many years. The house had been moved from elsewhere onto this spot. I was intregued about the origin of that number. My work as a therapist is very similar to this process at times. Often as people use the creative process in therapy, it helps them to expose the 'bare wood', the essence, the deeply known insights that are usually hidden underneath the grind of daily life, uncovering the beauty and the reality of what is there. Sometimes surprising gaps are discovered and how these have affected the person over the years begins to make sense. Nothing is judged. It just is. Some people decide not to 're-paint'. This enables them to start a life that is more authentic and honest. The wonderful outcome of this is that their connections with others are no longer based on a persona and at last intimacy is possible. Go well with these thoughts. Peace Sandy