Jordan Stones Blog

Psychotherapy Is a process of “welcoming” the stranger-he who is estranged from himself, away from home, wandering in an alien land-into a relationship of trust, care, and mutual respect. Psychotherapy Is a process of “visiting” the imprisoned, those chained to their own compulsions, shackled by self-deception, pacing the narrow cells of guilt and anxiety, and talking with them about their prospects for freedom. Psychotherapy Is a process of “clothing” the nakedness of those who have been stripped by illness of all pretense and self-respect, whose emptiness and failure have been laid bare to the world, who have been deprived of all protective devices, masks, barriers, and hiding places. Psychotherapy Is a special way of “calling” upon and sojourning within the inner frame of reference of those who wait under the conditions of helpless sickness, yearning daily for the day of deliverance. Thomas Oden

August presents a "New Year's Eve" experience for many of us.  Just as much if not more as January calls us to a recalibration of ourselves, because of the change of tide around the school year...this month requires a reset too. During the summer there is a shared longing to  "exhale" - to enjoy the change of rhythm and the experiences offered through that nurture our soul if we let them.  There is an example in the Bible of a man on a journey that includes a trajectory of high productivity, leading to high stress and fear, leading to  a collapse into restoration that looks like this "exhale" we long for in the summer season. Many of us have recent months behind us that look somewhat similar. Elijah in 1 Kings 19 doesn't really have a say in his rest...he more or less crumbles into it.  Our pursuit should be to honor when we need to peel away and be replenished BEFORE we have nothing left to show for it...see my last post on " dange