We want to know

We want to know that trauma can be passed on from one generation to the next but suffering does not have to repeat itself.

That we can break the lineage by choosing to be a liberating force of change for our families, children, friends and community at large.

That healing begins with nurturing ourselves and deeply seeing who we are, pouring love and forgiveness onto the parts that sting the most.

That transformation starts with a willingness to embrace ourselves completely, a gentle process where we learn how to be with pain without becoming it.

We want to know that the steppingstone to this kind of work is to create a sense of inner safety for ourselves.

That this means developing a capacity to be with the entirety of our experience in a way that feels empowering as oppose to overwhelming.

That we can stay present with whatever arises, meeting hurt and discomfort without shutting down because the experience becomes “too much, too quickly.”

We want to know that we can take it a step at a time, that there are ups and downs as well as endless turns and twists to the healing process. That sometimes we move forward and other times we go back to where we started.

That it’s all quite fluid, that we can be bent and unbroken. Or broken and still be unbent.

That building trust in our capacity to be with our humanness takes time and that whatever happens, opening our hearts is not going to kill us.

We want to know that it is ok for us not to know or have it together. That nothing is cut in stone and very few things are as permanent as they seem. That it’s all one giant mystery we cannot always piece together.

We want to know that in our willingness to stay open and show up for it all, we let grace move us and meaning find us.

That we can be fully present with our emotional body without letting thoughts or feelings take the wheel.

That we can learn how to strike this balance and need not bypass, dissociate or transcend any of it because the heart can truly hold it all.

We want to know that we are not alone, that we are held even when we cannot see it. That healing is always possible because there is still enough space for light to pierce right through us.

That the past certainly shaped us but does not ultimately define us for who we are and what we choose to become is always rooted in the now.

We want to know that we are free to own our story and be completely who we are and that doing so is safe, no matter how uncomfortable things may become.

We want to know that we can trust ourselves enough to walk this path of liberation, find our truth and unshackle our spirit from all that keeps us separate and afraid.