Metaphorically: How can YOU relate?

This is a true story.

TRUSTING
If you read the first page of the San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2005,

you would have read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds

of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat.
She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body-her tail,

her torso, a line tugging in her mouth.

A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralone Islands (outside of the Golden Gate)

and radioed an environmental group for help.

Within hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was

so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and

untangle her-a very dangerous proposition.

One slap of the tail could kill a rescuer.
They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her.

When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles.

She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them,

pushed them gently around-she thanked them.
Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.

The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye

was following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.
May you, and all those you love, be so blessed and fortunate—to be surrounded

by people who will help you get untangled from the things that are binding you.
And, may you always know the joy of giving and receiving gratitude.

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Even as I typed this out, I had goose bumps on my arms and legs, as I imagined the miracle of this experience.
How does this story relate to YOUR experiences with having an eating disorder, or life in general? Or does it?

For myself, I was first struck by the whale's heavy prison of tangled lines, and how first, she had in no way caused herself to become entangled, and also, how this prison could lead to her death. So pertinent to how an eating disorder kidnaps us, and can be truly deadly.

In order to rescue her, someone could be hurt badly in the process. How many of us (you) hesitate or simply don't involve those close to you for fear of hurting THEM?

Freeing this whale was a slow, labor-intensive process, not by just one person, but a team of professionals. Recovery is not easy or quick, nor can it be done without professional help.

The eye contact mentioned by the one diver, reminds me that the true 'heart' of who we are can only be communicated by the honesty in our eyes. AND, both (or all) parties may be deeply affected.
Do you have people in your life who want to help you be free from those traps and lines that you are entangled in?

Do we offer our gratitude and thanks to those in our lives who ARE there for us?

Have YOU ever received the 'gift' of giving? Do you allow others to receive that 'gift' from you, by allowing them in to help?

Without apology...♥