A friend of mine shared this poem with me a few months back. It's another take on the concept of healing "from" trauma.

Whether it's loss or illness or some other excruciating pain you've endured, the truth is that some kinds of pain don't ever go away. You can never go back to the life you had before.

You can't go back to "normal" --  but you do go forward and lay claim to your new life.

You learn to flood your wound with awareness, to hold your wounded self without being a victim. Come to find out, you can turn your pain into love, too -- you can make your life a thing of love.

You learn you're resilient in a way you never thought you could be. You're still whole, even though your heart's been broken. Life is still beautiful, still worth it, still available around every corner.

That's what this poem is about.

After you read it, I'd love to know what you think about it.

YES I AM BROKEN, BUT I AM WHOLE!

You do not heal 'from' trauma.
You simply come to know yourself
as Life Itself.

And you turn towards the wounded place.
And you flush it with attention,
which is love.

And maybe the wound will always be with you.
Maybe you will always walk with the hurt.
But now, you hold it. It doesn't hold you.
You are the container, not the contained.

It doesn't control you any longer, the wound.
Because it is drenched in awareness now.
Drenched in You.
Loved by You.
Even celebrated by You.

You do not heal 'from' trauma.
You find healing 'in' the trauma.
You find yourself at trauma's sacred core.
The One who is always present.
The One who can bear
even the most intense feeling states.
And survive.

The Indestructible One.
The Infinite One.
The Powerful One.
You.

The trauma itself becomes a portal to God.
To the Absolute.
To the Safety of Yourself.

And you will cry out in joy,
and you will cry out in sadness,
and you will cry out in relief,
and you will cry out in revelation,

"Yes I am broken,
but I am whole!"

~ Jeff Foster

. . .

Tell me:

What did you think of this poem? What resonated with you?

Tell me in the comments. I'd love to know!

With you,

Jen

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