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I keep posts I want to answer on my computer as a reminder. This response is late in coming, but now I can relieve the tab on my toolbar from its duty.

I related to this story.

Susie Goodie Two Shoes was one of my nicknames in my youth. I always cared. I wanted everything to turn out alright, for everybody. I told everyone I was fine. I was good. And many times I wasn't. But I would go down with a sinking friend.

At 66, many lessons later, I like who I am. I still care. I still want everything to turn out alright. I still tell people I'm fine even if I'm not. I still would go down with a sinking friend. I wouldn't change a thing.

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Just beautiful, honest writing, Karen. It's wonderful, in those rare times of writing, that we put some words on the page and the words begin to tell us what we should be writing about, and the metaphors begin to click...and how in the end, we come to understand that resistance is, indeed, futile.

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I love that metaphor of mowing down our own weeds, the very things that make us human. Thanks for being real!

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This resonates so much with Gabor Maté's When the Body Says No, which I finished reading this morning. You probably know his work, but if you haven't read the book yet, it really is worth it. He even talks about the smile people put on when describing their pain, so as to not impart their suffering to others. "I'm good," can be a dangerous place to be when it's not a statement of the truth. (Though sometimes it's hard even to know the truth.)

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Aug 15, 2022·edited Aug 16, 2022Liked by Karen Davis

You make such a great point when you compare the manicured pond edge to our own carefully curated presentations of ourselves. This is *especially* true for women. We internalize so many ways we should be good. The strange thing is, the weedy parts ARE the good parts.

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This was lovely — and the mowing the weeds analogy definitely made me think!

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Aug 14, 2022Liked by Karen Davis

Just loved this from the title all the way through 💗🙏

Blessings

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Aug 14, 2022Liked by Karen Davis

Thanks, Karen. Your openly sharing of your struggle to be real is so on point for many of us. Thanks for all you do to take care of yourself and the earth.

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Aug 14, 2022Liked by Karen Davis

Great honest reflections Karen. It's tricky- we have to accept being human and part of being human for many of us, is presenting to self or others as "good," even when we're not. And then, we feel frustrated for not following through on our desire to be real. But. . . a human being presenting as good when they are not IS real. Sigh. The only way I know to deal with this in myself is to be as tender with myself as possible when I realize I have not done what I really, really want to do. Oh, and to celebrate when (in some mysterious moment) I am able to be as real as I long to be (with myself or others.) Your post is very real. :)

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Aug 14, 2022Liked by Karen Davis

Karen you hit the nail on the head for me~ I told my doctor and kary this week I am good ~ they both looked at me~ I am not~ I just can’t eat~Pain and nauseous ~ it’s going thru me again~ yesterday I was lying down all day~ and finally said I just feel sick ~ I’ll call my doctor tomorrow ~ I never want to be a burden to anyone~ your pictures help me to see outside my head~ if that makes sense please continue to share~ it helps us feel not so alone❤️

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Aug 14, 2022Liked by Karen Davis

I needed to read this. Thank you.

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My struggle is with living in the world that is rather than the one I wish it is, and being frustrated all the time. Some days are better than others. I'm happy to hear you are managing to string together a few good ones here and there. An oh, I love the turkey vulture photograph! They are magnificent birds.

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Aug 14, 2022·edited Aug 14, 2022Liked by Karen Davis

I love what the older yogi said about respecting your edge—such a lovely application of ahimsa and a reminder to be kind to ourselves.

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Hi Karen. Thanks so much for this wonderful peek into your interiority which we get every week. I really appreciate the metaphor of the weeds as applied to the self and I really believe that it is our rough edges that make us who we are, so to respect them is key rather than to try and get past them or change them I. I really like your older wiser yoga teacher and I think what he has to say is really important. I have struggled with back pain for many years but at the end of it it was Iyengar yoga that got me back on my feet and give me a permanent solution. It feels like you are doing all the right things for both exterior and interior happiness. thank you so much for sharing.

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I could have written your content word-for-word myself. Just substitute "tendonitis" for "sciatica" and I'm right there with you! And I can totally relate to the propensity to be grooming my image of "all rightness." For me, it's a way to mask my own vulnerability, or fear thereof, and to make sure I'm not a bother or "downer" to others. (At one point I realized I was even caretaking my physical therapist's feelings! By assuring her I was improving I was trying to convey to her she had done a good job!) But I'm learning that by leaning into the reality of what is and not trying to berate it or avoid it through deep denial, I extend a compassion towards myself that ultimately aids in my healing. And as the old Clairol ad said, "I'm worth it!" :-)

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Aug 14, 2022Liked by Karen Davis

❤️❤️❤️😍😍😍👍👍👍

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