Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash
Always Choose To Love More
Choose to love more, as it is always the way to healing. Help others heal by loving always. You have the power.
The Worst Part About Trauma
The worst part about trauma is that triggers are all around us. One of my greatest triggers is seeing children with their parents, particularly their mothers. I have always longed for a mother’s love as I was abused and neglected by my biological mom my whole life. A mother’s love is an essential part of our human experience. No child should ever have to go without it. Unfortunately, I and many others do.
Triggers Are All Around Us
This trigger presented itself today as I saw a mother and her kid bond over the little things, just as any mother should with their children. The innocence of childhood makes a mother stare in admiration at their children with a love so profound. Jealously is one word to describe my reaction to this love. The other word is defeat.
Jealousy And Defeat
I am jealous because it is something that I have never experienced and probably never will experience: a mother’s love, that is. I am defeated because without a mother’s love, my life feels so empty and meaningless. A mother’s love is the foundation of all love, and without it, love seems to not exist.
Emphasize Love
Most would turn to emphasize the importance of self-love, but how would one know how to love themselves if they never received this foundational love? Love is relationally based, not individually based. You cannot expect trauma survivors to heal themselves. Healing takes an army, not a single soldier.
Don’t Fix, But Instead, Love
American culture is all about individualism, but collectivism is what needs to be emphasized. We are not lonely creatures. We are human beings and are in need of interaction with our fellow brothers and sisters. Our mental health system has it wrong. It is not about fixing, since love heals all wounds. Simply put, love is the answer. Choose to love more.
Community Series – Mental Health Book Club: What Happened to You? by Bruce Perry & Oprah Winfrey
