A shepherd has a huge responsibility to tend to his sheep. One beautiful sunshiny day, a shepherd gathered the flock and escorted them out to a pasture not far from the farm. Of course, while the sheep were trotting along a few of them strayed from the others. Each time this occurred the shepherd gently brought them back into the fold.
It took about one hour for the Shepherd and the Sheep to reach their destination. When they arrived the pasture toward the east was plush with nutritious green grass. To the west, the meadow was extremely barren of grass.
The shepherd unleashed his flock into the pasture so that they could fortify themselves. Each sheep found a spot of grass that they could sink their teeth into. The shepherd noticed that the sheep that went astray during their hike to the pasture went to the meadow barren of grass. He asked himself, “Why are they attracted to land that has no nutritional value?”
The shepherd knew his flock well and realized that the sheep in the west pasture were depressed, anxious, and in a dark place. The shepherd used his cane to stir the sheep into the east pasture. This directed the sheep to a different location than they were used to going. For whatever reason there were a handful of sheep refusing to move because they were comfortable in the west pasture.
- What is the meaning behind this story (application to Recovery)?
- Which of the roles do you see in yourself (shepherd, sheep in the east pasture, or sheep in the west pasture)
- Why did you see yourself in the role of the one you selected?
- What feelings come up for you (with compassion admit and accept your mental health condition, addiction, and recovery don’t run from it)?
- What is one thing you will do differently in your life as a result of this story?
Peace
Larry
email: ljw@superhumanbeing.net
website: https://superhumanbeing.net
