Trauma is not something that happens only once.
Our experience of the trauma may have happened a long time ago.
Or it may have happened yesterday.
Yet the feeling of it lives on within us.
And we relive the trauma over and over again in our minds.
IT CAUSES US TO CREATE NEW PATTERNS AND WAYS OF BEING THAT STAY WITH US.
The stories we tell ourselves and others are all affected by it.
So the experience live son inside of us for months, years, and decades.
Any little thing can trigger our trauma response.
A look, a word, a tone, or even a smell.
SUDDENLY, WE FIND OURSELVES BACK IN THE TORTUROUS TIME OF OUR LIFE WHEN NOTHING MADE SENSE.
Our sense of safety and security are all gone.
No one really understands us for no one lese has lived through the exact same trauma that we experienced.
Even if they can sympathize and empathize with us because of their own trauma, ours is always unique to us.
OUR OWN TRAUMA IS ALWAYS THE HARDEST FOR US TO WORK THROUGH.
The only thing we can do is to stop looking for sympathy and just do the hard work of unwinding the trauma.
For the world will not change itself to suit us.
It goes on exactly as it is.
And so do all the people we know.
For it not their responsibility to heal us.
It is ours.
So it may not seem fair that we have to do the hard work.
And go through the pain, the memories, and the agony of letting go of our attachment to the trauma.
THOUGH WHEN WE DO, WE ARE THE ONES WHO TRULY BENEFIT FROM THE HARD WORK.
It is our life that gets better and improves.
Our heart is the one that feels lighter and more peace.
The rewards of being willing to look at the things that most people don’t are immeasurable.
SO WHILE OUR TRAUMA IS OUR GREATEST PAIN, IT IS ALSO OUR GREATEST GIFT.
Without it we would not dive deep into our pain and do something about it.
And perhaps once we have started on the path of healing and wholeness we just might inspire someone else to do the same.
For while we cannot change someone else, we can be an example that they can follow should they choose to do so.
Once enough of us step up to be that example, maybe we can ultimately heal the world.
Wouldn’t that be a beautiful thing indeed.
So can you cultivate the bravery to dive in and heal the trauma from your own life?
~ Sam Liebowitz, The Conscious Consultant
Host of The Conscious Consultant Hour
