Protecting the Child within and how I became a Counsellor and a Naturopath
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh
In Zulu, Ubuntu means that a person is a person through other people. Ubuntu comes from an African Humanist philosophy, where the idea of community is one of the building blocks of society. Ubuntu is a shared ideal of common humanity and of oneness. More than any other philosophical concept, Ubuntu speaks to my core.
How can you enjoy your bread if the person sitting next to you is hungry?
A month ago, during my latest course study in psychosomatic phytotherapy, the seed of Ubuntu blossomed once again.
A PNEI(1) approach to plants and their properties, psychosomatic phytotherapy as an integrated approach, was developed and taught to us by the illuminated Dr. Fabio Rodaro in a series of formative weekends. This was not an ordinary classroom setting, rather, a workshop where we embarked on an emotional voyage aboard what he called "our ship". We were asked to be vulnerable, permeable, open, and experiment on ourselves and with the group.
It was through the humanity of my fellow travellers, through their eyes, embraces and shared experiences that I felt a shift within me and the energy and principles of Ubuntu took root within me once more.
Short chronology of child within me:
As a child, like most children I was filled with love, joy, laughter and a sense of wonder.
As a young teenager, my inner child was filled with passion and ideals, through her I protested everything and believed I could change the world.
Then in my later adolescence, my inner child met violence and I became disenchanted, the world was not kind, there was little or no joy, I just didn’t see the point in trying.
As a young adult, she woke up again, and I felt invincible, wanting to conquer the world, it was mine for the taking!
The adult me, had no time for my inner child, I was a serious a hard-working woman in a competitive man's world, disillusioned once more, with politics, injustice, racism, inequality, angry at the “system”, big pharma and industry, nauseated by greed and dysfunctional power, I was just going through the motion trying to survive.
Now at 55, I embody all that I once was, all that I believed in, and all that I've become, still disheartened by much, but now without harsh judgements, in the deep comprehension of the complexity human nature and being human. The little girl inside of me has forgiven me and I am grateful to her. I have reconnected with nature and the immense beauty around me and I try and live through my heart. I am once again filled with laughter, joy, love and with a sense of wonder for all that surrounds us. Today I am aware that I cannot change the world, but believe I can have an impact around me. By changing myself, by learning, by being (or trying to be) kind, helping when I can; by creating a nurturing, loving community that heals.
My deep connection with nature, the belief that we are more than a mere collection of parts is why I became a counselor and a naturopath. We cannot separate our body from our thoughts or our spirit. We are a system that is interdependent from all that is within us and around us. By creating balance, I believe we can heal ourselves as individuals and as a community, reigniting our Vis Medicatrix Naturae.
Though I am no longer that child, I make sure she thrives inside of me as she guides me and keeps me grounded to my core values: Love, joy and Ubuntu*.
If you are here reading this, you are part of my community and what makes my life better. Thank you!
Love and joy,
Catherine.
(1) The PsychoNeuroEndocrineImmunology or PNEI is the study of the relationships among the major control systems of the human body: the nervous, the endocrine and the immune systems, and between them and the psyche which is the emotional and cognitive identity that distinguishes each of us.