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The Subtle Process of Healing

By Stephen C. Schultz

The weather was wonderful—about 55 degrees Fahrenheit with blue skies. The warm sun bathed my face as the sage and junipers swayed gently in a cool breeze blowing from the West. There is nothing quite like the smell of sage growing wild in the high mountain deserts of the Southwest.

I was sitting on a small boulder outside the kitchen at Discovery Ranch South. DRS is a residential facility that provides personal and customized care to young teenage girls who struggle with emotional concerns.

I walked up some stairs and into the lodge (kitchen and eating area), where I heard some discussions taking place. I walked in and saw five girls being instructed on how to make a cobb salad. One girl was slicing tomatoes, another had cut up celery, one was chopping lettuce, and a girl at the stove was boiling eggs and cooking bacon. They were smiling, talking, laughing, learning, feeling, and simply being "normal" teenage girls!

I heard the dull roar of conversation as the rest of the girls entered the lodge to eat lunch. I walked out of the kitchen to the dining area, and one of the girls ran up to me and said,

“Hi, Steve! I got to ride my horse today!”

“Good for you!” I responded. “It’s good to see you again.”

She smiled and then walked off to get in line for lunch. What she didn’t know was that I noticed the scratches and raw, pink-colored sores on her arms. I started talking with a different girl and a therapist who had just walked into the room. We slowly made our way to the lunch line. I ended up standing next to the first girl, the one who had ridden her horse earlier in the day. I looked at her arm again and said,

“You do that with a pencil eraser?”

She responded, “Yeah, I got in a bad headspace not too long ago.”

“You OK now?” I asked, raising an eyebrow with a sincere tone.

“Yeah,” she said a little sheepishly.

I replied, “That’s good! The important thing is that you work through it and heal on the inside as well as on the outside. I imagine riding your horse is really helpful.”

She simply looked up and smiled, a twinkle in her eye. Then she turned, grabbed a plate, served herself some salad and tacos, and sat down with the other girls at the table.


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