Stretch
I once had a woman who was in one of my women’s groups say “If I don’t stretch, I can’t grow.” How true this is. It is when we stretch beyond our comfort zone that we can make changes and grow. What have you always wanted to do but stopped yourself with your fears? Or did you stop yourself because you had internalized outside messages that said you couldn’t? When I had a practice I worked with many remarkable women and two come to mind who stretched and took the risk to do something they always wanted to do. One woman who was in her thirties had always wanted to take tap dance lessons but now felt she was too old and she would look foolish. I encouraged her to give it a try. She loved it and found it gave her joy. Another woman I worked with had been a very talented artist as a child and had been selected for a scholarship for art lessons at the local art museum. Her father told her it was a waste of time and that she had no talent. She was eight years old. She came to therapy when she was forty-five and a mother of five. She gradually began to go back to her love of art. She first enrolled in art classes at the museum, then completed a two year course at the community college and then went on to get her BA in Art from the University. Her work now hangs in the University and some of her pieces have been selected for a public exhibit. A time of transition such as a relationship ending can be a good time to look around and try something you have always wanted to do. Stretch.