Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Living a life in which you honor the value of curiosity can prove challenging when trauma undermines the quality of your life. Trauma can prove so debilitating that a person may come to cope with its impacts through self-isolation. Living in a highly controlled and under-stimulating environment may prove an attractive solution to coping with trauma in the short term. But what happens when this way of coping becomes a way of life? Without mindfulness and a desire to continually grow we can become stuck.
Curiosity is an important gift of the explorer. In fact, I would assert it is the indispensable gift of the explorer. It is curiosity that inspires an explorer to venture into the darkness of realms unknown and unvisited. To recover from trauma we must regularly bring a measure of curiosity with us on our healing journey. We may fear what lurks in the darkness of our individual and collective ignorance. And yet we may discover that immense gifts can be found in that very darkness.
Looking back it is clear to me that a shadowy veil cloaked my vision for many years. I lived in a shadow engendered by the trauma of my early life history. When I sought out additional treatment I did so knowing it was quite possible I would discover some terrifying things that might only compound the very low state of mind I was already in. But my worst fear did not come to fruition. Venturing into the darkness eventually led me to leave it behind.
Even now, twenty-one months after I embarked on treatment, I am still traversing the internal landscape of my sadness. It is a familiar landscape whose contours I nonetheless was a bit loathe to more fully explore. But I am gradually discovering and developing an entire kit of tools I can use such that my new life will be greater than the one I was living before June, 2013.
The highlight of my day was my decision to attend a weekly meeting of men who have participated in the New Warrior Training. I found the experience more consoling and inspiring than I initially felt was realistic to expect. I will allow my curiosity to inspire my deeper exploration of this personal growth opportunity.
Living a life in which you honor the value of curiosity can prove challenging when trauma undermines the quality of your life. Trauma can prove so debilitating that a person may come to cope with its impacts through self-isolation. Living in a highly controlled and under-stimulating environment may prove an attractive solution to coping with trauma in the short term. But what happens when this way of coping becomes a way of life? Without mindfulness and a desire to continually grow we can become stuck.
Curiosity is an important gift of the explorer. In fact, I would assert it is the indispensable gift of the explorer. It is curiosity that inspires an explorer to venture into the darkness of realms unknown and unvisited. To recover from trauma we must regularly bring a measure of curiosity with us on our healing journey. We may fear what lurks in the darkness of our individual and collective ignorance. And yet we may discover that immense gifts can be found in that very darkness.
Looking back it is clear to me that a shadowy veil cloaked my vision for many years. I lived in a shadow engendered by the trauma of my early life history. When I sought out additional treatment I did so knowing it was quite possible I would discover some terrifying things that might only compound the very low state of mind I was already in. But my worst fear did not come to fruition. Venturing into the darkness eventually led me to leave it behind.
Even now, twenty-one months after I embarked on treatment, I am still traversing the internal landscape of my sadness. It is a familiar landscape whose contours I nonetheless was a bit loathe to more fully explore. But I am gradually discovering and developing an entire kit of tools I can use such that my new life will be greater than the one I was living before June, 2013.
The highlight of my day was my decision to attend a weekly meeting of men who have participated in the New Warrior Training. I found the experience more consoling and inspiring than I initially felt was realistic to expect. I will allow my curiosity to inspire my deeper exploration of this personal growth opportunity.
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