What’s Your Medicine?

“What’s your medicine?

Not the kind you take

But the kind you create

Spiritually”

from Separated by Chrysalis Sun

Everyone is born with a unique gift, something that can be offered to the world. It can be a talent such as singing, painting, or making jewelry. It can be a special characteristic; a beautiful smile, a compassionate listening ear. Shamans call these unique gifts “medicine”. It is form of positive energy that is to be shared with the community for the purpose of healing. The idea though, is that we are supposed to be able to take the very medicine we give. We do this by first identifying what our gift is, cultivate it, and use it to heal ourselves. We then, it turn, share it with others. This is the journey of the Wounded Healer, a path that requires much dedication, Self-awareness, and knowledge of Self.

Temet Nosce. Know Thyself.

My medicine is poetry. I was born a story teller and have writing since I was old enough to form letters into sentences. I began writing poetry at the age of thirteen. It was my way of dealing with all the emotional chaos that came with a young, very awkward, girl going through puberty. Writing poetry was the only way I knew how to express my feelings as I had yet to learn how to effectively communicate. I learned much later in life that communication is to be both my biggest strength and my biggest challenge. Communication is my “karmic lesson” and has everything to do with my birth chart-or where all the planets were in the sky when I was born. I encourage everyone to get their birth chart read. It’s the biggest tool for self-awareness.

Poetry got me through those tumultuous junior high and high school years but by college I had put the pen down. I didn’t pick it back up until several years later when I was going through a very painful divorce. I found myself, yet again, experiencing complex emotions that I did not know how to communicate. I needed an outlet and, as a result, rediscovered poetry. Writing helped to heal the emotional scars I had endured from my divorce. It was also during that time that I was encouraged to share my poetry at open mics. It certainly wasn’t easy to reveal such personal aspects of myself. I’ve never been comfortable with being vulnerable. Every time I stepped to a mic I felt as though I was preparing to strip naked and read excerpts of my diary to a room full of strangers. In a sense I was but the experience taught me how to communicate my feelings to others in a healthy way. I also got to see how much my poetry positively affected others with similar experiences to mine. That realization was extremely empowering, knowing that I was healing myself and others each time I offered my medicine. So now, when I share my poetry, I do so for the benefit of my community as well as for the benefit of myself. Each and every one of us are healers in our own way. We just need to discover it.