Michael's Story

Chapter 7

"Our session is ending." Tess tucked her smile.

Junie stared at her blankly, "A lot of times I wish I could just fold you up and put you in my pocket."

Tess chuckled, "Well, it's a good thing you can't, and don't forget I'm willing to talk even outside of office hours."

"That's not illegal?"

"No, it's not as long as we agree and we set boundaries."

"I won't go blowing you up at three am or anything but, some days suck more than others."

"Communicating in between sessions would help me sleep better. I get so worried about you."

"I can manage for the most part......Never mind, I'm lying. I wanted to bring something up today but, maybe I'll talk about it in text or something."

Tess looks worried for Junie. She checks her watch and then ponders her next sentence.

"My next session won't be until an hour from now. Wanna go another fifteen?"

"I don't want to get you in trouble or anything."

"My office, my rules. We're off the clock so that means no filters."

"I don't know if I'm ready for your non-therapeutic responses just yet." Junie breathed out a nervous laugh.

"I wasn't planning on saying anything crazy just imposing my opinion a bit."

"Is it about me? Something bad?"

"Junie, why do you think you're such a bad person?"

"I mean..." She gave it thought, "I just keep associating success with worthiness."

"One thing I've noticed about you is you're honest with yourself. You should give yourself more credit. I disagree with your statement though. Just because you're successful doesn't mean you're worthy."

"Maybe that's true but, I can't help feeling like I haven't made progress because I'm not worthy."

"That's because you're telling yourself you're not worthy. Commitment, persistence, and a whole bunch of other things go into being successful. You could be considered the worst person on planet Earth and be successful if it's what you really want."

"Sometimes, I feel like I'm living in a low-budget drama film."

Tess chuckles again, "What does that mean?"

"The story is badly written, the acting is dramatic and boring, it all feels unnatural, and everyone's upset in every scene."

Tess chuckles some more, "Bad movies are fixable. Some remakes are better than the original."

Junie pulls in her smile, "That makes me feel a little better."

"Seriously, be nicer to yourself."

"I'm working on it," Junie said.

"What's your favorite mantra? Just curious."

"I usually say: "I choose calm," and then I breathe like this," She demonstrates by shutting her eyes, breathing through her nose, and then out of her mouth, "And repeat."

Tess nods, "Okay, good. How about we try a different one?"

"Sure."

"Close your eyes if you'd like and then breath in and out," Tess instructed, Junie closes her eyes, "Repeat after me: I am grounded." Tess continues.

"I am grounded."

"My spirit is grounded deep in the Earth."

"My spirit is grounded deep in the Earth."