A Road Trip to Healing Yourself

Healing is a process.

I’ve heard people say this statement over and over and over again. I agree with it, but I think we assume that at some point we’ll reach a destination. I don’t believe that’s true, at least not in the way one might expect. If there must be a destination to the healing, I think it’s the end of a life: when a person is finally at rest, knowing they did their best to heal themselves and create better for the future generations – that is the destination to me.

In this life, I believe healing is a journey. I like to think of it as road trip, even. There are often plans set forth, but there are also twists and turns because that’s how life goes. There are pitstops – some long and some short. There are times when you’re coasting and times when you find yourself lost in the middle of nowhere. A road trip is often challenging yet rewarding. You're away from home, maybe even in places you’ve never been before, but somehow you find purpose and excitement along the way.

My own journey to healing has certainly had its ups and downs, twists and turns, and all that is in between, and I don’t think I’m anywhere near the end of healing all the wounds inside. Currently, I think I am coasting on a highway somewhere to my next great adventure, but ask me again tomorrow and I might say I’ve stopped at a gas station or found myself stranded on the side of the road.

I guess that’s why I’m writing these words at this moment in time: to acknowledge that I still have work to do, to acknowledge that it’s okay to have work to do, and to acknowledge that I’ll probably continue finding myself at a crossroads for more work to do in the future.

We beat ourselves up so easily because we’re not where we think we should be, but maybe your job is to lean into this moment. For better or worse, it’s yours. It’s your life. It’s your process, your journey, your road to healing, and you get the choice to go as slow or as fast as you please. I just hope you like the end results when you finally get there.

I hope we all do.