How we live our life is often determined by our early traumas.
They may not be big traumas.
They may not be forgotten traumas.
Yet how they help to shape how we see the world impacts the rest of our lives.
Do we consider men unsafe because of some abuse?
Do we feel that women are untrustworthy because of some neglect?
Do we see the world as violent or painful because of some childhood experience?
These feelings are not always easy to see in our own lives.
They are like filters through which we see a tinted view of the world.
They can cause us to feel separated, alone, and isolated.
And we may not even know why.
Sure, we remember when that bully beat us up.
Or when our friend took advantage of us.
And everyone in the family knows Dad always had a temper.
It's not a big deal.
Except it is.
Or at least it was for us.
It caused us to feel unsafe and unprotected.
It pushed us to be shy, or aggressive ourselves.
And we don't even realize it because we have always been that way.
So how do we change?
How do we bring awareness to our inherent patterns?
Let's look at our lives.
Where are the patterns?
Do people always take advantage of us?
Are we always suspicious of others?
What do we do on a consistent basis that may not actually have anything to do with reality?
When we are the only common element in the issues that pervade our life, then the pattern is with us.
Awareness of the pattern is the first step.
The second is forgiveness.
Forgiveness of ourselves and others.
Through forgiveness, we can find peace.
~ Sam Liebowitz, The Conscious Consultant