We all carry the pain of our past with us.
It may not be so obvious.
It may not be seen in our scars.
Yet it affects us throughout our lives.
And it may not be the pain we think it is.
As small children a lot of things can be traumatic.
A parent screaming.
Another kid making fun of us.
A sibling teasing us.
And it all adds up.
And we bury it.
At the time, perhaps we didn’t know how to process it or deal with it.
As a child, we had not yet learned good coping mechanisms.
So we stuff them down, all those little memories.
Until one day, if we’re lucky, they start to come back up.
Something triggers us.
Someone sets us off emotionally in a way that doesn’t make sense.
We are even surprised at our own reactions.
So now we have a clue to follow.
A trail of breadcrumbs that leads us back into our past.
And there are many scary monsters waiting for us there.
Yet if we don’t face them, we’ll never be whole.
In fact, those buried traumas may lead to some illness or disease.
So we find support, and build up our courage.
And we dive into the past to face our monsters.
All those bullies, all those moments of pain.
Facing them is not easy, this work is not for the faint of heart.
Yet when we do, and we let them go, we find a new sense of freedom.
No longer controlled by our past pain, we learn to move forward more true to who we are.
Our authentic self begins to emerge, slowly.
And we find ourselves feeling quite different than we did just a few days ago.
Facing our pain is a far more difficult act than burying it.
Yet it is the only way for us to truly be free of it.
~ Sam Liebowitz, The Conscious Consultant
