There is something about trauma that makes you look at life differently. Yes, most of the time that is not a good thing because we tend to develop negative coping strategies after trauma, and that is normal because trauma is not pleasurable. But I think utilized differently trauma can give birth to beauty. Think of childbirth, or the splitting of a seed to release new life. In the same way trauma can give birth to new and better ways of living this life if given the right soil to grow. I know I'm using a lot of metaphors but that's how I think oftentimes, and I love it😊
When we look at a green forest, or even a beautifully sculpted backyard, we rarely think of the process behind the scenes. I'm not talking about the gardener, but rather about the process the seeds go through to produce new plants. A seed has to be buried in the soil for a few days or even weeks before new life sprouts forth. For the new life to sprout, the seed has to undergo changes to itself, changes which involve trauma to the seed. By definition trauma is deep distress or disturbance. That trauma on the seed results in it splitting open, and releasing the life hidden inside it. The new plant does not look at all like that seed once fully grown. Infact it is totally different in how it relates to the world, such that one would not associate it with said seed at all. And that is the nature of trauma, it changes something so much so that at times it becomes unrecognizable.
The same happens with trauma on us living people, when we go through trauma we are changed. We do not look at the world the same. Where we were trusting, we begin to question motives. Where we used to go all in with reckless abandon, we begin to be hesitant, checking to see if it's safe. Trauma alters our thinking and leaves such a deep impact that it is unwise to think after a traumatic event life can go back to normal.
Currently the whole world is in the grips of a pandemic, that has changed the way we do life as we knew it. That is a form of trauma affecting everyone.
When the pandemic does finally leave, we as a collective will not be able to just resume life by picking up where we left off. Our whole being has been affected profoundly that we have to allow ourselves to learn how to move on. We found ourselves thrust into the eye of the storm and we developed survival strategies. Now we need to translate those strategies into more mechanisms to ensure we survive life after the Rona.
Just as some seeds do not survive being buried, but rather rot and die, sometimes trauma is too much for us that we prefer to wither away in complaints and whining. For some the trauma is the fertile ground for the germination of facets of ourselves we did not know existed. Just like that embryo inside the seed waiting for the darkness of the soil to come alive, some parts of us become strongest when put under pressure and exposed to harsh circumstances. The beautiful jagged mountain landscapes that we see, having been shaped by water and wind erosion comes to mind.
Have you ever walked past a landscape that has just suffered a fire, and noticed how everything looks blackened and ugly. When you look at that same scenery a few months later you are greeted by a lush green landscape. Nature showing us how beauty can come from even the most ugliest of situations.
There is a beautiful gully I cross on my morning walk regularly. Everytime I pass it I take in its beauty and am reminded of the beauty that comes from pain. Trauma is not pleasant, but when the pain has subsided we can pick up the diamonds that the pressure has produced. I thank you for adding your beauty to this earth. We are in this together ❤
🌷🌷
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