Pathlight: Journey to the Good Life – Hope Springs Eternal
Originally from the U.S., Annie now enjoys retired life at Pic River First Nation. Annie Wenger-Nabigon, MSW, RSW has been a clinical social worker since 1979 working in mental health, family therapy, and addictions services. She is a doctoral candidate at Laurentian University in Sudbury, ON. Annie also works part-time as a consultant for LYNX, owned by her husband Herb Nabigon, MSW. Herb provides traditional Anishnabek teachings and healing workshops for both Native and non-Native organizations. Together he and Annie provide training and education to professionals on a wide range of topics blending mainstream and traditional approaches in healing. They also provide cultural safety and anti-racism training. Do you have questions re: mental health, living a good life, relationships, etc. ?Annie would love to hear them and may even include your questions in a future column (published by-monthly exclusively on OntarioNewsNorth.com) Send your comments or questions to Annie via email to Pathlight@OntarioNewsNorth.com
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Easter! There’s Always Hope
It’s that time of year when we never know what kind of weather gifts we’re going to get from Mother Nature. Easter Weekend my husband and I decided to take a little trip on the TransCanada Highway and do a little shopping. To our surprise the clear roads were challenged by a post-spring snowstorm, and as it turns out, Easter Day itself is presenting a blanket of snow across the beautiful tall spruce trees surrounding our home.
The Easter Sundays of my childhood always seem to be awash in sunshine in my memory, but as a young mother I remember many Easter weekends when dressing the children in their new Sunday finery meant a final touch of adding warm coats and often, an umbrella. It is clear that this special weekend is not universally the warm, sunny spring day we might like it to be, and that things are not always as they seem. The stone doesn’t always get rolled back from the tomb to let in warm, bright sun to the dark shadows. Sometimes we just have to live a little longer with winter.
If this is a time in your life when the cold soul of winter is lingering long in your life (using a metaphor here) try to remember what the sunshine looks like to you when it finally breaks through the clouds. There is always hope! The symbolic story of Easter expresses the purest strength of hope in a very dark world. For the Jewish people, waking up in a Roman era was a daily exercise in nurturing hope in dark and oppressive times. The powerful story of Easter tells us much about the eternal well of hope in the human heart.
May your Easter bring you great hope, even if the snow still speaks of winter!
Annie Wenger-Nabigon, MSW, RSW
Pathlight@OntarioNewsNorth.com
ANNIE RECOMMENDS:
- The Hollow Tree by Herb Nabigon
- EldersTeachings.blogspot.com
- Pathlight: Journey to a Good Life archives
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*Health themed columns found on OntarioNewsNorth.com provide general information about medical conditions and treatments. The information is not advice, and should not be treated as such.
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