Accepting the Unacceptable ~ Finding Peace in the Pain – Part II
Meet my tea kettle. She's broken and beat up, but she's mine & she's beautiful. She is me. Broken and beat-up, but beautiful.
Meet my tea kettle. She’s not pretty, but she does the job.
My tea kettle has been with me a long time – years in fact. She’s moved four times with me, even across states. She heats water for my organic green tea, for my kid’s Maple & Brown Sugar oatmeal.
For some reason, I have never wanted to look inside my tea kettle. I’m almost embarrassed to say, I never took off the lid and looked inside her or cleaned her out.
I didn’t want to know what was in there for some reason. I was afraid of what I might find. It seemed much easier to me to simply go on using her, without dealing with what was inside.
The thought crossed my mind awhile back, “I should really look inside and clean it out!” But, I ignored my instinct, thinking, “It boils water, how dirty could it be?”
Yesterday, I had to dump out all the water out, and when I did, large globs of white stuff came sputtering out.
Uh oh.
Time to clean out the tea kettle.
So, this morning, I hesitantly, finally took off the lid and FINALLY looked inside. Look what I found.
Look what happens when we don't take the time to look within...
Immediately, I thought, “Oh no! I’ve been poisoning myself and my family for years giving them water from this kettle!”
In considering that, I unveiled a beautiful metaphor for what we’re investigating here.
If I don’t deal with the build-up of pain within, I’m drinking poison, and feeding it to my family, too.
My dear friend, the same is true for you, and that pain you have bottle up inside. You may not be able to see it from your inside perspective, but I can assure you, your unresolved pain is indeed affecting the health of you AND your family.
I’m happy to report, after a little research, I have not, in fact, been poisoning my family. However, it is definitely not recommended to continue drinking this stuff.
So now, what do I do with this poor tea kettle? Well, to continue with the metaphor, I think I should take some time to care for it, wouldn’t you agree? I think it would be a lovely idea to take a soft, wet rag to it and clean it, so that it can be restored to it’s full grandeur as the Sole Hot Water Provider in our home!
According to my research, however, it may take a little more then a wet rag to clean her up. I’m going to need a few tools such as vinegar and baking soda. But, that’s going to take some time, and some care, and I might have to get my hands dirty!
Ok, well, what’s the alternative?
Enjoy my tea and oatmeal with globs of chunky white calcium and lime build-up in it or throw out the tea kettle and get a new one.
Seems to me it makes the most sense to start with simply looking inside, and taking the time to clean it out. Sort of like that old saying, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.”
In the same way, take time to look within, see your pain and tend to it. See the tea pot as yourself, and be kind with yourself and the pain within.
I love my tea pot, so I’m going to take care of it. I’m going to clean it out gently and kindly, and I’m hoping, after spending a little time alone with her, I can restore her to her rightful place on that fine back burner on the stove.
Hmmm…maybe once she’s all cleaned up, I’ll even move her to front burner!
I think she might be ready, don’t you? 😉
Might be time to move my tea kettle to the front burner after this!
#writing #thichnhathanh #Grief #faith #peace #thoughts #pain #life #release #inspiration