We had a freeze in Texas and several plants on my back deck didn't survive. There are some that made it through and others, well, I'm just not sure yet. Time will tell. It was hard to trim some of the dead leaves back and not know it they would survive. One of the beautiful plants had vine like branches and lovely pink flowers on it. It's shriveled and brown now, but I do see a tiny sprig of green near the dirt and hopefully, there is more life that will sprout forth.

During this week of weeding out and cutting back, I was reminded of my own spiritual and emotional growth life. There are times to nourish and enjoy the beauty of my own growth and maturation. There are other times when I must pull some weeds and cut back on the old that needs trimming. The parallel really struck me. Cosex addiction recovery and plant growth are closely linked in the seasons of development.

The first stage of plant growth is the planting of seeds. When we first learn of our own family system and begin to self-reflect on additive and harmful behaviors that we have used to survive, we begin to plants seeds of recovery; a new way to live and learn. These seeds include knowing there are other dynamics in relationships that are more healthful and we begin to utilize them. Developing boundaries, names for our feelings, learning tools for expression and communication, finding support groups that understand are all a part of the seed planting stage. It is a new beginning.

Next, germination takes places and roots begin to develop. For us, these are practices that we put in place consistently that allow for deep roots, regular nourishment and a deeper sense of connection to ourselves, a Higher Power and others.

In the vegetation period, more deepening happens. There is stored up food and the plants begin to mature. For us in recovery, our emotional and spiritual connection continues to be nourished and is no longer new for us; it becomes our way of living life.

There is reproduction with plants next. The sharing of seeds and spreading of life happens during this stage. In our own lives, we share what we have learned in our recovery and begin to bring the light of prayer and meditation and nourishment of community to others.

Dormancy is a time for death to occur and new life to begin. In our relationships, we find that some connections no longer nourish us and others take their place. We also honor our quiet season as well, and allow for the inner workings our of spiritual life to dominate for a time. We learn here to allow our cosex addiction recovery program to really work us. We learn to surrender to the process, trust that all will be well in Divine timing.

Trusting the seasons of our own emotional and spiritual growth helps us to trust the natural rhythms and seasons of life. We honor the cycles of growth in nature and learn to nourish these cycles in ourselves.

Blessings on your journey,

Sally