Introduction (relatively new member)

[Aimee Brown]

Hello,

I’m a relatively new member of Benedictine Care.

I was briefly a member earlier this fall but took a break and am now back.

I appreciate how welcoming and kind this program is. I enjoyed attending a Centering prayer group and the Stewardship group Dec. 5. Thanks so much to everyone who was there.

I’ve struggled a lot to care for myself around food and practices to take good care of my health, but have also learned a lot in trying from time to time. I think that Teri said something like – it’s not always that people don’t know what to do, but getting oneself to do things.

I hope to find a way to kindly and compassionately be more aware of emotional eating and help myself make changes that support my health and general well-being. I also like thinking about grace (or God or whatever word others might use) being part of this process.

Although I’ve used food to cope with stress and other difficulties, at this point in my life as I get older (post menopausal now) and after getting a concussion a few years ago, I’ve been dealing with some additional health issues such as arthritis, regular headaches, sleep apnea, insomnia, gastrointestinal issues, back/neck pain, glucose levels increasing and anxiety.I feel embarrassed listing all that – I’m very fortunate that I don’t have any really major health issues. These issues all seem to be slowly getting better over the past couple of months and I’m so glad.I have a long way to go in stewardship of myself in a way that reflects the care that it should.

I’m looking forward to reading the chapters, watching the videos and attending some of the online events.

Peace,

Aimee

[Teri Rose, OblSB, Program Director]

Aimee- what a gift your honest words are to all of us. I hear so much of my own experience in what you shared. I remember days many years ago when I had wished I actually did have a more serious diagnosis so that I would have something “to fix” and medical help to do it!! It felt easier, and in its own ironic twist, less burdensome to say I had “X condition” than to live day to day with my own frustrating list of symptoms. These symptoms gifted me with my love for physiology though, and for that I am grateful. And it was my love for the physical body that became my personal front door to deepening my spiritual formation. A door that I now know won’t ever be closed. And that makes me know that change can become sustainable. As centering prayer guides us, all that we need to do is consent to the presence and action of the Divine within us. Through the program, I look forward to practicing this consistency of consent with you. Welcome back. :)

[Aimee Brown]

Thanks very much Teri.

[Tom Jaeger, Senior Group Lead]

Welcome back Aimee!

I really love and appreciate what you said about including grace in the struggle. I too need to be reminded to include compassion and kindness in my self stewardship. And your awareness that “you have learned a lot from trying time to time” is exactly what I needed to hear for my own stewardship practice as well. It reminds me that as I turn towards and join up with the Divine, the struggle can become more of a journey into the next joyful and healthy stage of life rather than a leaving behind the things that gave me comfort, but I can no longer have now that I’m older. As Terri says, adding rather than subtracting:)

Thanks so much for sharing! See you in the groups:)

[Aimee Brown]

Thanks very much Tom. Peace, Aimee

[Author]

Posts