It is always a fabulous moment when you decide to have your nails done. Choosing a colour? Hmmm. Near impossible, so many wondrous choices, pink, pearl, red, blue, shellac or gel? Sitting in the busy salon with so many other women, all feeling the anticipation and buzz of polishing our fingers and toes.
But on this particular day, the combination of the racy nail technician, the nail dryer and shellac, all created a melted, dint in my nails and the nail beds became damaged and lumpy. I then realised that due to the damage, I had to wait for my nails to grow out, all the way from bed to tip. Here is what the five month process taught me:
One simple choice.
One choice can then create a multitude of consequences. When we know we have a choice to either listen to our intuition or ignore it, what do we do? Every movement prepares for the next.
Awareness.
Our nails, along with every single part of our body, have a magnificent purpose. They are made of the same substance our body uses to create hair and skin. They are delicate and protect the soft, super-sensitive tips of the fingers. Your nails can tell a lot about your health and vitality.
Reading.
Damaging my nails made me begin to focus on how delicate they actually were and how I had never really treated my nails with the respect they deserved.
My nails represented my attention to the details in my life.
The way I 'handled' things, 'touched' on things,
'tapped' into the delicate details like my movements,
expression, my 'holding' quality.
I had not been treating my fingers with the love and care that they deserved and now my nails were speaking to me from their delicate beds, asking me to deepen my relationship with all that I touch.
Acceptance.
Accepting that something is not the way you want it to be, can take a lot of honesty and a bit of time. You almost have to deal with the shock first. That may include anything from a relationship, to a nail bed, to your relationship with your nail bed. I had to accept that I had damaged a part of my body that now needed time to heal and grow and expand. I had to accept that I made a choice that was not true for me. I had to accept that I had not been truly careful in the past. The more honest, the more settled I felt in my body. The nails would heal and so would I. The beauty was, that I had given myself space to unpack the reading.
Attention to details.
The attention to details means the little things that all amount to the sum total. Every little thing counts. Every movement you make, the way you think and speak, every choice. Don't be fooled. It all makes a difference to the quality of your life and those around you. Living in a body is a gift not a given. The level of care we should have does not always equate to the way we are with our bodies. We are often rough and quick, we use our hands as tools, we use our fingers as instruments, rather than beautiful extensions of our expression as beings in bodies. Get the 'point'?
Patience.
The slow growing of the nails was almost unbearable.
I had to learn to settle in with the timeframe that healing takes. Whether we are healing hurts that are deep and old or healing finger nails, it still takes a certain amount a time that is to be seen as a moment to restore and resurrect what it is that we have left or chosen.
Patience is a provider of space.
It allows understanding and awareness.
It has no urgency or irritability, but a knowingness
and steadiness that feels eternal .
Delicate.
We are delicate beings from head to toe and emanating out and beyond. We are subject to life and it's harsh and crude environment but we need not harden up to cope. The sensitivity of my nails has been asking me to take more care with how I touch and hold things. How I handle life. Do I harden up to deal with all that is presented or do I simply receive life with grace and openness?
Time heals all wounds.
Wounds need to also be cleared and tended to, to avoid scar tissue and disability. Choosing to heal wounds is important if we want to be free. Free from resentment, free from bitterness, free from blame. Taking time and space to heal is important. It is a day to day and moment to moment event and this is a blessing. Why? Because without the process of healing, we often don't get the understanding nor do appreciate exactly what has occurred.
Healing our wounds, whether they are physical, emotional, mental or energetic allows us to complete a cycle and begin a new fresh way of being. Just like the nail bed growing out, so too is our process of anything that needs to clear and complete.
Day to day.
My nails have almost healed. They are feeling stronger and more resilient then ever before. I have worn gloves for the last 5 months whenever I have felt that my nails have needed protection. They have been cared for with oils and gentle massage and manicuring. I have eaten well and have nourished my body to support my nails. The process is almost complete and the care will go on. The experience has taught me so much about my care for my body and every little aspect of it.
Nailed it.
I now love and appreciate my delicate and beautiful nails more than ever before. I am more aware of the details of my day to day handling of situations and expression. I am willing to show more of my delicate self and be less harsh and hardened to cope with life. My nails and I have chosen to expand and grow and I thank my body for being such an amazing vehicle of love.
How is your relationship with your nails? Take a look at your nails and remember that if you care to love your nails and all that they represent, then they will be a reflection and representation of you. You may even find yourself gazing at them, like I do and adoring each one of them and all that they represent, which is the delicateness, refined beauty and sensitivity of you.
Great reading