Everything is getting cold

A Remarkably Foolish Guide to Self Harm. Bring the pain!

Oh how I love these long, dark nights.

These are the shadowy days. So many of us have shadowy aspects of ourselves that we never acknowledge. Things that we consider uncomfortable, unpleasant, shameful AND TRUE about ourselves we tend to keep in the shadows.

In my line of work I see people who are stuck in, married to, derive meaning from and in some way, pleasure from their pain. Ever meet someone in a bad / terrible / dysfunctional / abusive relationship? I spend a lot of time with people stuck like this. This isn’t only at work. I see this everyday at the hockey rink, horse barn and at surf breaks.

People keep themselves in pain because they’re afraid of their shadow. People keep themselves in pain because on the level of their nervous system, that’s what they know. It’s what they’re used to.

I get this. At this time of year, this time of shadows, the water in the ocean is a lot more cold. Frequently at the end of a surf session I find that my fingers and toes don’t have any feeling a…