photo credit: Blake Lasater
Why are some people able to move through trauma in their lives while others remain stuck in the horror of it all? Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome is acknowledged and treated in our society, but what causes it? I heard an analogy today which helped me understand. Every day we hear and see things we can’t forget. We can be like a garden and turn it into fertilizer which will help us grow and flourish, or we can wear the filth and suffer the consequences. I don’t say this to minimize anyone’s pain. On the contrary, I think we should acknowledge our feelings and go forward. The worst case I personally know is a man who was in the Tet Offensive in Vietnam half a century ago. He killed people until he couldn’t feel his arms, then took a break and did it some more. When I knew him well, this horror was fresh in his mind and memory. To a lesser degree, I’ve known other veterans who were consumed by the terrible things they had done. They wore the dirt, not proudly, but obviously, as they slowly committed suicide with alcohol and drugs. We can all help our friends come through trauma of various sorts, helping them to be free and wise rather than trapped in sadness by the pain. Memories don’t disappear because we want them to go away, but we can change them into stepping stones to bring us to higher ground. Let’s turn our own painful memories into a rich organic fertilizer and watch what happens!
“Who that has felt the loss of human peace has not gained stronger desires for spiritual joy? The aspiration after heavenly good comes even before we discover what belongs to wisdom and Love. The loss of earthly hopes and pleasures brightens the ascending path of many a heart. The pains of sense quickly inform us that the pleasures of sense are mortal and that joy is spiritual.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 60: 24-28
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