How You Believed Trauma Lay Around Every Corner
and the solution that lived just outside your door
Dear Younger Tom,
For years you’ve waited for trauma to surface and rear it’s ugly head. Plans have been put on hold or cancelled altogether because you knew that something, somewhere was going to turn into another one of life’s nightmares.
So you waited.
You waited, hidden away from society, hidden away from danger, hidden away from living the life you always dreamed of.
Playing it small was the way to keep out of harms reach.
It worked, but you lost your soul along the way.
Things have happened to you in your life that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy.
At almost every major milestone in your life, something terrible has happened and it has skewed your way of looking out onto the world.
A world that appears, on the surface, to be cold, cruel and unforgiving. It chews up the weak and spits them out, leaving them to rot in a pile of self-pity and anguish.
The pile grows bigger as the world keeps on turning, not giving a second glance to the fallen souls left behind.
Yes, it’s a cruel, harsh world you live in.
I guess it’s the not knowing of what lies around the corner that has led to your increased fear of uncertainty. That’s understandable, but I do want you to realize the cost it’s having on your life.
Your coping mechanism of playing it small in every arena is leading to a loss of many things.
Things that when gone from your life, you may never be able to recover.
Friendships slowly wilt; job opportunities pass you by; time spent with loved ones never materialize. All of them important, all of them worth fighting for.
For every one of those that you let slip through your fingers, you strike a blow against you living your values.
Values that lead to a happier you.
Isn’t that what life is all about? Being happy?
You are at a crossroads right now and have a difficult decision to make.
On the one hand, you can stay as you are, keep living your nightmare day-in-day-out, or you can choose a different path, one that may initially feel even scarier but will eventually lead you to a happier place.
I had to make that brave decision once, just like you will and take it from someone who’s walked the path you are on, the second option is well worth it in the long term.
You know this is true, deep down, it’s striking a chord, but it’s still your conscious decision that’s key to making it all come a reality.
Which path will you choose?
You already know the answer, don’t you?