Oh yes, storytelling is a way to witness and claim what happened, including the fact that we survived. I grew up with the mottos: "Don't talk, Don't feel, and Don't trust". And since I shifted to talking, feeling, and trusting, I have grown immeasurably. "Replacing silence with storytelling doesn’t erase the pain - it alchemizes it. It allows me to breathe, to honor, to connect.
I didn't have setting or the understanding to process what I was feeling growing up, and I often talked to and/or trusted the wrong people with thoughts and feelings that ended up harming me down the road. I can see and feel your growth in your writing and your messages. I'm so grateful we've both had the opportunity to do things a little differently now. Our adult selves deserve so much more than we once got.
Oh yes, storytelling is a way to witness and claim what happened, including the fact that we survived. I grew up with the mottos: "Don't talk, Don't feel, and Don't trust". And since I shifted to talking, feeling, and trusting, I have grown immeasurably. "Replacing silence with storytelling doesn’t erase the pain - it alchemizes it. It allows me to breathe, to honor, to connect.
I didn't have setting or the understanding to process what I was feeling growing up, and I often talked to and/or trusted the wrong people with thoughts and feelings that ended up harming me down the road. I can see and feel your growth in your writing and your messages. I'm so grateful we've both had the opportunity to do things a little differently now. Our adult selves deserve so much more than we once got.