“I died that day.”
“What?”
“I died.”
Trauma can feel like a death. Probably because in many ways, it is.
At a minimum, an aspect of self is lost. It may just be temporarily inaccessible, but the feeling is the same.
Collateral losses may include:
- The version of you that was present on the scene.
- The one who saw what you saw and heard what you heard.
- The innocence of who you were prior to the event.
- The people that only resonated with the previous version of you.
Although it may not feel like it at the time, these “initiatory experiences” are actually an invitation to get to know ourselves in a whole different way.
Who are we when the illusions have been shattered- when everything we thought we knew is called into question?
Can we stay present with the groundlessness that comes with realizing the safety net either wasnt there after all- or had a huge hole in it?
Healing trauma is a terrifying, beautiful, and confusing dance between grieving what was lost, honoring who we are now, and awaiting what’s to come.
Photo: Wilmington, NC January 2021
Anatomy of an Awakening 