Nurturing Hands

I had a massage the other day, with a Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT). I have been seeing Lisa for 10 years now and there isn’t a time when I don’t come out of it with my body feeling so much more relaxed and my spirit soothed.
The massage itself is almost beyond description. Each person will experience a uniqueness because of their body issues. My legs and feet are the hardest to tolerate because of their disability. But then Lisa moves up the back and to the neck, and I moan as the tension subsides. The legs and hips are mandatory and necessary for my mobility, but the back and neck are what I look forward too. That is where I carry my stress.
Lisa’s hands are strong and she works the back like I am a piece of bread dough. I thank God everyday for her ability and for her friendship.
I guess you could say an LMT is like the proverbial hairdresser; they hear everything. It is so calming that the woes or joys of life just find their way out of your mouth. Plus, there is the added benefit that you are on your stomach (for at least half of the visit), and don’t have to look at your listener. Your secrets are safe because the LMT has the same ethical guidelines of a doctor. There is confidentiality. If there were not, they wouldn’t be very busy. To laugh, to cry, to share, and to just be quiet are the hallmarks of the dimly lit, soothing room with light music, where it is all about feeling better.
For me, Lisa has become a valued and dear friend and our time together feels more like conversations. I am also her confidant, and I feel ethically bound to not disclose her private thoughts. Beyond ethics, she is my friend, and I do not discuss my friends in relation to what they have shared with me. If I speak of friends, it is to share their joy or sorrow with the hope of prayer and good thoughts for them. I try to live by the golden rule of “Do unto others…”
I wish that I could offer half the comfort to Lisa that she brings to me. Thank you Lisa.