Trauma is not something that happens only once.

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Our experience of the trauma may have happened a long time ago.

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Or it may have happened yesterday.

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Yet the feeling of it lives on within us.

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And we relive the trauma over and over again in our minds.

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It causes us to create new patterns and ways of being that stay with us.

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The stories we tell ourselves and others are all affected by it.

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So the experience live son inside of us for months, years, and decades.

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Any little thing can trigger our trauma response.

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A look, a word, a tone, or even a smell.

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Suddenly, we find ourselves back in the torturous time of our life when nothing made sense.

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Our sense of safety and security are all gone.

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No one really understands us for no one lese has lived through the exact same trauma that we experienced.

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Even if they can sympathize and empathize with us because of their own trauma, ours is always unique to us.

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Our own trauma is always the hardest for us to work through.

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The only thing we can do is to stop looking for sympathy and just do the hard work of unwinding the trauma.

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For the world will not change itself to suit us.

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It goes on exactly as it is.

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And so do all the people we know.

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For it not their responsibility to heal us.

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It is ours.

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So it may not seem fair that we have to do the hard work.

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And go through the pain, the memories, and the agony of letting go of our attachment to the trauma.

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Though when we do, we are the ones who truly benefit from the hard work.

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It is our life that gets better and improves.

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Our heart is the one that feels lighter and more peace.

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The rewards of being willing to look at the things that most people don't are immeasurable.

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So while our trauma is our greatest pain, it is also our greatest gift.

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Without it we would not dive deep into our pain and do something about it.

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And perhaps once we have started on the path of healing and wholeness we just might inspire someone else to do the same.

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For while we cannot change someone else, we can be an example that they can follow should they choose to do so.

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Once enough of us step up to be that example, maybe we can ultimately heal the world.

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Wouldn't that be a beautiful thing indeed.

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So can you cultivate the bravery to dive in and heal the trauma from your own life?

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~ Sam Liebowitz, The Conscious Consultant

Host of The Conscious Consultant Hour