A Support Net of Hope
Holding Hope by Jenny Murphy, LMHC
It seems as though you have been called into a battle of the most challenging kind. You are being asked to straddle the generations of motherhood as you care for both ends of the spectrum. While you are standing in this divide, reaching for both the past and the future, you find yourself without your armor. Your shield is down.
And so, I am here to remind you that you are a Warrior. You are part of this tribe. This community is here for you. When you find the weight of grief too heavy to bear, I invite you to cast it out over the sea. Allow the gusts of wind found in this storm to take the burdens off your back. What you might not know, is that the tribe of parenthood has created a beautiful net. A support net, that is strong and wide. When it is fully open it can stretch over miles of land and water. The support net is a place where all of your troubles can land for now. They will be held there, among all the other beautiful threads. Some tattered and thin, some brilliant, thick and glowing. When woven together, this net can support us all when we need it.
So don’t hesitate. Fling them off of you, hurl them into the sea, if that feels good, or simply place them outside your door. Whichever way feels best. The important thing is to unburden yourself a bit, and let this beautiful woven net do what it does, and that is to release you from your worries, grief and despair, at least for now.
When you are done, take a look out across the horizon. Perhaps you can catch a glimpse of this woven net, now spread wide, billowing in the breeze. The storm is beginning to pass. Notice your burdens are there too, part of the bigger picture of things. This beautiful support net is sending you this message; “You are not alone”.
Now, feeling a bit lighter, I invite you to stand up, with your feet planted firmly on the ground. Let the strength of your legs root you down, connecting you deeply into the earth. With your hands on your hips, step back with your right foot, and let it pivot to 90 degrees, so your toes pointed to the right. Now, turn your body squarely to the right. Bend your left knee and stretch your arms out wide - one reaching forward, one reaching back. This is your Warrior pose. This pose is your armor. Your gaze is steady, and your mind is becoming clear. While one hand reaches forward towards the future, and the other reaches back into the past, rest assured that both your core and your heart center are grounded in the present moment, in the here and now. Take a deep and nourishing breath. As you inhale, say quietly to yourself: “I am strong” and as you exhale say: “I will get through this.”
From one mother to another, I will be with you. My threads are woven into the net too. This net will be witness to you, as you stand over this great divide.
You are strong, you will get through this.
In solidarity of the tribe,
Jenny
Art and Writing A conversation of Support and Hope
We are all connected. We are all woven together with visible and invisible ties. We all will go through times when we might need to lay down our grief or burdens in the invisible golden net and be held. This piece was made in response to a writing by art therapist Jenny Murphy, LMHC. It was written as a piece for a woman whose mother was in hospice but I believe we can all find a piece of hope or some resonance in her words. It was shared with me when I needed a line of hope.
And just to give you an idea of scale. This piece is 3.5ft x 8ft!