01534: One Foot in Front of the Other

Healing is not a speedy process. Whether physical or emotional (especially in the latter case), healing takes time. And as much as a lot of what we know about healing is derived from scientific endeavors, a lot of times it's educated guesswork and juggling too many unknown variables.

It's no wonder why a lot of people constantly try to avoid going to the doctor. Far too often we choose to diagnose ourselves when it comes to the lesser ills and the random pains that we feel in our bodies as we age. On some level, we distrust doctors or at least we don't see why we should pay so much for someone to make a guess as to what's wrong with us. Far too many diagnostic procedures seem almost worse than the health problems themselves. And thus modern medicine gets a really bum rap.

So if we're this distrustful of the physical side of medicine, what more the emotional and mental sides of the equation? Thus all the more people typically try to cope with emotional issues on their own - or perhaps even not at all. Avoidance and denial are some of the most common tools in every man's mental arsenal for dealing with challenges after all. And I'm not exactly exempt from this aspect of the human condition.

Amid the stress of work, I've been going through a bit of healing as well. I guess you could say that this particular wave began when Tobie and I started going back to O Bar in earnest. I had my own share of "demons" that I needed to face and it has certainly gotten easier and easier beyond that point.

There have been significant milestones this week, that much I can say. I'll keep the details a bit to myself for now if only to let things take their course and not rush this into anything that it should not be. It's not like everything is absolutely perfect just now, but it's a lot better than it was before.

I won't say something silly like "I don't know where this might be headed," before any of you ask. I've already been down this particular road and I know what's at the end. I know exactly where this is going, and perhaps it is where things should have gone to in the first place.

But there's no value in second guessing the past. The key to true healing is moving forward and starting anew.