Contemplations & Meditations Archives • Wild Gratitude

Contemplations & Meditations

Healing from the epidemic of loneliness with small group workshops.

Healing the Loneliness Epidemic: Small Group Workshops for Social Connection

The Loneliness Epidemic This year, Dr. Vivek Murthy, the United States Surgeon General, made a public advisory about an “Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation”. He states that “approximately half of U.S. adults reported experiencing measurable levels of loneliness.” Seen as an urgent, widespread health crisis that “has profound consequences for our individual and collective health and well-being”, this announcement about the epidemic of loneliness made headlines across all major networks. The surgeon general has created a National Strategy to Advance…

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Stacey Couch at home with her son as part of her sharing her story about having the chronic illness, ME/CFS.

Chronic Illness: The Stamina to Keep Caring

World ME/CFS Awareness Day is May 12th. This time three years ago, I shared about having ME/CFS and how I make meaning in it. The reality is that this is a chronic illness and there is no cure. I feel it’s important to post occasional updates to be real about my long-term residency in the kingdom of the sick. What is it like to make a home here? Those of you with your own residency cards know what I speak…

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Little Briar Rose asleep on a bed of roses with a spindle propped against her head waking to be woken from her creative sleep.

Cycles of Creativity: Little Brier Rose

Little Brier Rose – Cycles of Creativity Link to the story of Little Brier Rose and others of this tale type: https://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/type0410.html Meaning of the Spindle The spindle is a symbol of lengthy and monotonous hard work. A recurring symbol in European folktales, the spindle is long rod with a pointed end and made of wood or metal. A ball of wool (or flax) is spun into yarn around the spindle by hand. This is simple technology, but ridiculously time…

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seven ravens initiation into mystery wisdom for the soul

The Seven Ravens: Integrating the Spiritual Life

Original artwork by Stacey Couch © 2022 Summary The wisdom for the spiritual life that the fairytale “The Seven Ravens” teaches is: How to integrate your spiritual life into your daily life. It involves bringing the masculine and feminine into balance and experiencing all the sides of yourself and your life, including the hard parts. We all experience the pain of illness and loss. Suffering continues with burying the pain of loss. Entering into the mystery (raven symbolism) and unveiling this…

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image of full moon over water prayer for releasing emotions

Releasing Emotions that Won’t Go

Repressing Emotions is Unhealthy A practice of releasing emotions before they build up can be helpful. Why is this? Because stuffing difficult emotions is harmful to our health. The bottled up emotions (anger, frustration, sadness, grief, fear) make their way back to the surface eventually.  The eruption of old feelings can come in an uncontrollable torrent of expression at an inopportune time. This is harmful to the health of our relationships, jobs, and sanity. The old feelings can also manifest…

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Watercolor of crown, pea and mattresses for Princess and the Pea Story

Princess and the Pea Story: Valuing Sensitivity

Princess and the Pea Story The Princess and the Pea story is a tale about a young woman who is too sensitive… Right? This sensitivity seems to get her in trouble. Do you cringe at the prissy princess who is easily wounded, never comfortable, and always complaining? Doesn’t this story perpetuate the misogynist myth of the feeble female who needs to be coddled and sheltered? As a child I saw the princess as a wussy, and secretly vowed to be…

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disability-pride-month-accessibility

Finding Accessibility

Seeking Accessibility Yes, that’s me … in a wheelchair. I’m still getting used to the idea. I came to a point of no longer being able to leave the house. Being on my feet more than 10 minutes at a time and walking any distance at all became impossible. I can manage a trip to the grocery store once a week if I can be dropped off at the door and I am able to rest the remainder of the…

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ME/CFS Awareness. Stacey Couch standing and looking at her black Friesian Percheron horse named Isabeau.

A Call to Slow Down

Photo: Stacey Couch and her horse “Isabeau”. Photo credit: Estella O’Connell Hiding Behind the Teaching My career began centered around a memoir. My story opened up doors to spiritual insights. I stepped through those doors to share with others. Over time, my focus shifted from sharing to listening. I embraced the role of transparent messenger. To write down “I” has become uncomfortable again.  Spiritual correctness, which is similar to political correctness, says to drop the ego. In life and work,…

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cherokee mustang in memory

In Memory, Cherokee the Mustang

In Memory, Cherokee the Mustang Eleven years ago, when I first met Cherokee I went to touch her. She turned and walked away. Weeks later, my husband asked about the big and powerful brown horse out in the herd. I said, “Her? Yeah that’s Cherokee the mustang. She won’t let anybody catch her.” Which was the truth. She was the least tame horse on the ranch. Weeks after that, my co-worker and friend said, “You should do some of the…

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Find the Right Timing for Healing

Is time linear, circular or parallel? Depending on our perspective, we may be influencing our own healing. Chronos: Linear Time Regardless of the spelling, the name Chronus/Cronus/Khornos/Chronos, is associated with linear time and the early origins of the Earth. In some myths Khronos is a serpent with the heads of a man, a bull and a lion. He paired with the serpent goddess Ananke. They coiled around the primal egg and split it open to create the earth. In other…

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