Offering Online Therapy

I offer HIPPA compliant Video Sessions for simple and secure session for for all new and returning clients. No download required. Please contact me for more information or if you would like to schedule an appointment or consultation. Thanks you! Greg Carpenter LMFT

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Tree Top Bliss


Eyeing the pine tree behind my friend’s home, it became clear it was time to get a new perspective, literally. So, I begin my climb to the top. All “tree climbers” (yes, there is a national association of tree climbers) understand that certain pine trees provide great opportunities for reaching new heights. As I grabbed for the first branch on this tree, my friends Kent and Sue began to question if fearlessness was a form of foolishness. Ascending the tree, I moved upward carefully checking to see if each branch would hold my weight (falling is not an option). Climbing upward over the equivalent of several stories, I finally reached the treetop. Once at the top, I delicately pulled myself above the treetop to gain an unobstructed view (not an easy feet in the tree smothered landscape of Massachusetts). Once on top, there was not a tree or building blocking my view of the horizon. I just sat in my delicately balanced position and breathed in the rush of adrenalin, awe and breathtaking beauty of the East Bridgewater “skyline.”

My tree top bliss was interrupted by the voices of my friends urging me back down. Climbing down is always more difficult than going up. But with both feet back on the ground, I could still feel the rush of energy and excitement.

Carl Jung, a well known scholar in the field of psychology and religious experience states that each one of us has a soul that longs and urges us in various was to become the “wholeness embedded within us.” My belief is that we are all created in the divine image with purpose and possibilities. When we get caught up in our endless “to do” lists we get over focused on limitations, and lose perspective on possibilities.

Climbing to new heights always puts me in touch with something beyond myself. This different perspective of looking down on the world creates a shift that engages my imagination and shifts my viewing of the world.

Not everyone needs to climb a tree to make a shift. But when we get stuck in our perceptions or actions, shifting our “viewing” or “doing” can create positive changes. In the land of making change, sometimes a little results in a lot.