Welcoming Your Inner Dandelion: Growth Beyond Wishes

And the dandelion does not stop growing, because it is told it is a weed. The dandelion does not care what others see. It says, “One day, they’ll be making wishes upon me.”

-B.Atkinson

Have you ever felt like a weed among the roses? Do you look around and wonder how you got here? Our brains are fickle things. But we can decide how we want to see ourselves and our relationship to life. Dandelions symbolize what I want to be in this life. What does that mean and how does it relate to forest therapy? Find out in this post.

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Dandelion: The Misunderstood Rebel of the Garden!

When you think of dandelions, what comes to mind first? ‘They are spoiling my lawn.’ ‘They spread like a disease.’ ‘Get rid of them!’

Here are some of the ways that I see dandelions. See if any of these qualities strike a chord in you.

• hard to kill
• brimming with sunlight
• stubborn
• highly disapproving of convention
• beautiful in their own way
• unapologetic
• full of wishes
• can push through seemingly solid ground
• search for the sunlight to open
• allow the wind to carry them
• hoping to be made into a beautiful crown

is this you, perhaps in some small way?

Embrace Your Inner Rebel: Then Exhale and Make a Wish

I am a dandelion
A weed
That holds impossible
Wishes & dreams
Overlooked by most
Ruined in rain
Flowing in a breeze
Stepped on in fields
Some find me beautiful
A miracle
Some find me annoying
A waste
I am a dandelion
A weed
That holds impossible 
Wishes & dreams
-Viviana Cervantes

The world moves very quickly these days. As a person with chronic pain, I feel left behind and forgotten at times. But I am not the weed in everyone’s way. I am not unseen and abandoned. I have much to offer. And so do all of my chronic comrades. Even a weed can be a support in significant healing.

My brain does not work at top speed anymore. It does not keep pace with the masses. When I try, I quickly find myself turned upside down. Maybe if I gently put my mental health in rice it will improve.

It’s like I’m built different from everyone else. Like, incorrectly. But then I think, why would my brain take me to this place? Whose side is it even on? Does it even want me to be happy? It is in this moment I remember I have brain fog.

Mind Traps for The Brain-Function-Challenged:

1. Personalization– when you believe the outcome of all things is because of you or depends on you, everything is your fault PSA: you are not sick because you are not trying hard enough to get better, a positive attitude will not cure you, and it isn’t your fault that you are here
2. Always Being Right– the chronic strain on our nerves can make it hard to look past our own thoughts and feelings and listen to others, a great way to overcome this is to ask this three word question when you can’t see eye to eye with someone, listen to what they have to say then ask “I WONDER WHY” I wonder why they see it that way, I wonder why they feel that way, I wonder why leaves space in your heart for empathy
3. Minimizing– the good things others say about you, I have had to work to see myself as an equal to those who can work and enjoy their lives in a different way, one of the first steps was to take a compliment and say, ‘thank you,’ don’t minimize or disqualify it, take the praise for what it is and grow from it
4. Mind Reading– assuming I know what others are thinking of me and that it is negative, it is always best to assume that others are thinking highly of me, usually that’s true
5. Catastrophizing– believing the worst will happen and that I won’t be capable of handling it, pain is its own trauma, but we have seen many beautiful things happen even with this heavy trust, believe that the best is yet to come

My brain requires my world to be softer, and quieter, and just less of everything. It can be a lonely place. I am often exhausted, overwhelmed and overstimulated. I can never actually catch a thought. They come and go so quickly.

Focus and The Ineffective Art of Juggling Distractions

I am so easily distracted. I was learning from my friend, Neill Williams @ Success Genius how this works and why this is so frustrating. She says that paying attention while we have multiple distractions is like trying to hear a whisper at a rock concert. Then blaming our ears for not being sensitive enough. Our brains just need the noise cleared away.

Williams is teaching me that it’s okay if I need to clear physical distractions. Before beginning my focused work. I can pare my space down to bare essentials. Turn off phone notifications. If I have things floating around in my brain I can write them down to clear them. It is okay if I need to wear cozy clothing and sit in a relaxed position. Taking care of myself, making sure I get a good sleep before I make demands on my brain and staying hydrated is paramount. Another good rule of thumb is to work for a couple of hours. Then move. Take a break. Get outside. Before resuming concentration.

Williams has also educated me as to what is happening in my brain when I am focusing as opposed to being in my brain’s default setting.

She says there are two networks in our brains. The task positive network. It is activated when you are focused on a specific task. Then there is our default mode. It could be compared to a wandering mind.

These two networks operate like a see-saw. When one is activated, the other is suppressed. But when you are distracted your brain goes into a back and forth between the two networks. Can you relate?

Trying to catch my last thought is like watching a tennis match but my eyes are always just a tad behind the ball. Then the direction changes. Then the speed. I find myself going back and forth even between matches when no ball is in play. Is that normal? Should I look into that?

Williams cited research from the University of California that says it takes a full 23 minutes to return to a deep concentrative state after being interrupted by the default mode. Or by something. Or someone.

I love my family but they get kicked out of the room (and sometimes kicked out of the house) when I am trying to focus. I feel every part of those 23 minutes of trying to get back to deep concentration once I have been interrupted. **Keep reading to find out what that sensation is coming from. And why it affects us chronic comrades so much!**

The danger, Williams states, is that we are living in a constant state of partial concentration. And what’s more distressing is that researchers have now found what they call ‘attention residue’. This happens when part of our brain stays focused on the most recent distraction even when we think we’ve brought it back. The more switches we experience. The more our cognitive resources are drained.

Here’s what catches my attention. **Each time our attention is broken, our body produces a small amount of cortisol . Does this ring any alarm bells chronic comrades?!?** Cortisol is our stress hormone. We already have that in spades. This makes so👏🏼 much👏🏼 sense👏🏼 to my body. As a young mom I was constantly distracted by little ones. As a piano teacher my attention had to stay on the work at hand. As a wife of someone with ADHD I am often pulled into his wandering thoughts. But nothing breaks up my concentration like pain. It is constant. And demanding. Nagging. Wearing. It can be frustrating to think of all my brain could do without that perpetual pull.

But I believe the following to be true,

everything
that ever 
hurt

that we never
told
a soul
about 

has become
a gallery
of art

inside
us

-jw

What do you think? What would your exhibit feature? Mine would include: Unseen Selves of the early 2000s. When The World Tilted. The Fabric of Ache. Held Together: Coming Apart.

From Pain to Prosperity: Choosing Healing Over Hurt

A monk once said. “Imagine being bitten by a snake, and instead of focusing on healing from the poison, you chase the snake to understand why it bit you and to prove that you didn’t deserve it.”

That chase could be the death of you. Literally.

Imagine getting a chronic illness and instead of focusing on healing, you chased the medical professionals to understand why you got this and to prove that you deserve to be healed.

Is that chase yielding the results you want to see?

Now imagine the forest and how being in nature can heal you. Because it can. Perhaps cure is not in your vocabulary, but healing is. What healing can you find in the forest?

… those golden kisses all over the cheeks of the meadow, queerly called dandelions.

-Henry Ward Beecher

☝🏼 Me being a dandelion ☝🏼

Saerling- (Norwegian) someone who is unique, unconventional, or stands apart from the norm. If that doesn’t describe us chronic comrades, I don’t know what does. My fellow Saerlings:

Be a dandelion in a world of roses
Inspire wishes in kisses of stolen breath
Complete your phase in celestial dreams
Of the sun moon and stars
While setting your roots deep
In the warm earth amidst blades of humble grass
-teaganell

Discover the Warmth: Embrace Forest Therapy for a Stronger You!

Nature is beneficial for your mental health in many ways. Studies show that daily contact with nature is linked to reduced levels of chronic stress, reduction in obesity, and improved concentration. Plus nature just makes us happier.

You can also make your inside space green, add plants and even birdsong to boost your mood indoors.

Find ways to add nature into your day. Map out a trail with a friend. We have a few nice options in and around Saskatoon. Find wildflowers, and enjoy bird feeding stations.

You are the garden. Tend to yourself. We may be dandelions, but now we know all the ways that is a good thing. The world is moving quickly. But we don’t have to. Watch for the five mind traps we discussed. Check out the Success Genius Podcast. Listen to this episode, The Two-Part Concentration System for Better Focus to learn more about what we examined today. Consider your gallery and what exhibits would be featured. Don’t chase answers so hard as you chase those golden kisses that turn to wishes. Find the ways that nature can heal you.

I’ll see you in the forest! And see you back here next Tuesday.