SAFE PEOPLE

This week someone got me to thinking about why I started my new blog?  And why I titled it Stranded on the Mainland???

Let me try to explain:

The first Stranded on the Mainland was a poem I wrote in Barrie when I was stuck in the fall-out of #Metoo and my government job (1991).

Then second Stranded on the Mainland was a fairytale written when it was becoming clear my marriage (one that allowed me to leave government) was not going to go the distance (Harbourfront 1995).  

Next. Until this week I thought the title Stranded on the Mainland was just a clever play-on-words to describe how I felt living on the mainland (not a tropical island) and working in Toronto.  

Now I can see how it was the perfect title for being stuck in grief and loss. 

As the years went by, so too could I see that Stranded on the Mainland (the fairytale) had become an inner pilgrimage and my safe place in a time of exile. But exile was not the end of the story. (Sisters of Life).

Fast forward to now-- Stranded on the Mainland has become the title of my new blog! (2021). 

It also strikes me that Stranded on the Mainland is the perfect title to describe the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.  We have all been "stranded on the mainland." I am not alone, and I am blessedly alone.

With all this said, Toronto will soon be confronted with the reopening and return to the "real" world.  Which is why I am including "Safe People" recordings below.  Returning to the regular world may be unwelcome and even scary for yourself or someone you know. It is to this end that I have been listening to a YouTube series of recordings by Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend entitled "Safe People".  I think it is worth sharing.

Choosing safe people is not just to protect us from harm but to help us grow. 

Not everyone is meant to be your "safe people".

I believe God gives us our safe people, but like with free-will, it's up to me to discern who is safe and who is not safe: education on healthy boundaries is important here.

I must resist the temptation to confuse safe with nice or familiar.

I trust that as my circle of safe people grows so will my ability to grow and tolerate unsafe people who will naturally and necessarily be in my life.

I notice where I am unsafe for others and I invite the LORD into these places to heal them.

Amen

Cb

Dr. Henry Cloud: Safe People:Session One:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5A2Raw3xbI

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