The Toolkit

When I became a single mom I had new responsibilities. I was now in charge of all home repairs. I realized I had no tools. A family member went to the store and came home with a new toolbox full of all sorts of tools for different tasks. It was in a cute toolbox! Later, after getting well acquainted with the tools, I bought myself a streamlined version of the most necessary tools and they fold up into a handy “toolkit” I could fit in my purse. I developed a confidence for the challenges of this side of home maintenance and knew I had what was necessary to meet those challenges. There were also those times when a challenge came and I had to call an expert, someone who owned the big power tools and could do the job quickly and efficiently.

Last weekend, I attended my second class to become a practitioner in Positive Psychology. I received some power tools from an expert in the field. I learned about our brain anatomy and how the cortex and neocortex are responsible for different areas of our being. I learned about the duality of the brain and how to create a better relationship between the two parts of the brain, what each part needs. For example, our core brain needs include a sense of community, shared empathy, connection to others, touch, face to face contact, feeling good. After learning how threats and triggers work in the brain, I understand why I react and I learned strategies to make “peace” with the brain that wants to “survive” and protect.

I realized I now have a “power” tool to repair those areas that I once judged as “an issue I will always have”. I don't need to fight to get rid of the issue, I just need a “power” tool to repair the threat or trigger as it comes up. I now know that all through my life I will need to address the “repairs” of the heart and along my journey there will be these repairs. Now, I ask myself, do I need one of my handy tools to take care of this, or do I need a big power tool from my toolkit. I am peace with the fact that I will always have those repairs to take care of, but also know I have built up a toolkit that can handle these challenging obstacles and life events. It is my desire to share my toolkit with others who are searching for some new tools to face life challenges. And in the back of my mind, I know I have access to the experts in the field for added reinforcement for my toolkit.

This has given me a new sense of freedom and empowerment and clearly a heart of joy!

"He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand."

Psalm 40:2