The sun is pouring into my new office, there is about a foot of snow on the ground, the air is crisp and fresh. It’s a glorious day in Kingston, Ontario.
So far this week, I have crossed many things off my to-do list. Tomorrow, I am going to bake a galette des rois with my kids (first time ever – my son’s idea). Today I found out I did not tear a ligament in my knee during the downhill skiing mishap I had last week. Today I had time to drive to my daughter’s school in the middle of the day and bring her some snow pants…
All of those things make me very happy. I’m a cheap date, I know, but working in this field has taught me to appreciate small, daily events. While it is true that trauma work can rob us of our innocence as I have discussed here previously, the flip side is that doing this challenging work can also allow us to take life in fully, right here in this moment, as we know only too well that it can change so abruptly. There are times when that lost innocence is a painful thing: my heart can tug at the wrong times (often during happy personal events) – a sort of survivor guilt that I feel, knowing that so many people don’t get to enjoy those types of moments or that all of this could be gone in a matter of seconds. When this happens, I gently bring myself back, take a deep breath and remind myself that this is the gift of vicarious trauma: to never take things for granted and to cherish the very moment we are in.
If you are regular reader of this blog, you will know that I am a big fan of Leo Babauta, a popular blogger on the topic of simplifying. Leo recently posted a “best of Zen Habits” for 2010. Go take a look and see whether something in his list inspires you to make a change, however simple it may be, for your new year.
Next week, I will be travelling to Dawson City, Yukon, to work with Victim Services staff. I am really looking forward to this! January will also see a trip to Ottawa to offer the one day Compassion Fatigue workshop, London for a two day train the trainer and Kingston for a workshop with school principals and vps (if you are coming to the Kingston session, remember - NO blackberries welcome in the room unless you are waiting for an organ transplant!) – School principals are the heaviest bb users I have seen so far in the helping field. I understand why, but it drives me to distraction during a self-care workshop. Ahem. No offence…
