When I started out as an entrepreneur I definitely wanted everyone to like  me ; to be honest, when I started out in life, I wanted everyone to like  me .

As a young child, I just expected it, unconsciously initially, but as I grew up in the world of humans I became acutely aware that some folks just liked  me  and others didn't.

I didn't understand the rhyme or reason as to why folks liked or disliked  me , but I did everything I could to modify my behaviors in order to attract as many people as possible to  me , regardless of the price.

As I got older, I got so good at pleasing others at the expense of my self that gradually my ' me ' got totally swallowed up by the  me  so frantic to make everyone else happy.

I became lost to my own self.  I didn't know what it felt like to be  me , just  me , and over time it didn't seem important.  The ' me ' I had created was so disconnected from the true  me  I didn't know whether I was coming or going.  I let the world use  me  and I was OK with it. 

I told myself, I was fine.

And then, one day, I wasn't fine anymore.  I was angry.  I was angry with the world, but mostly, I was angry with myself. How did I let myself get so lost?  How did I let fear take over my whole life?

I think this is in part why I am so passionate about this concept of trauma informed care.  If we can reconnect with our shared humanity, if we can tap into the power of our own stories and use those experiences, those lessons to guide us in our life we can ease the suffering of others, we can support others in meaningful and even magical ways to feel seen, secure, connected, and ultimately to feel LOVE!

Truthfully, I believe although we may look different on the outside, on the inside we are more alike than many of us may even venture to consider.

There is this beautiful quote from Jean Watson:

“...we learn from one another how to be human by identifying ourselves with others, finding their dilemmas in ourselves. What we all learn from IT is self-knowledge. The self we learn about …is every self. IT is universal – the human self. We learn to recognize ourselves in others…(it) keeps alive our common humanity and avoids reducing self or other to the moral status of object.”

Becoming a Trauma Informed Professional is about learning  how to be human  again; it's about  recognizing ourselves in others  and realigning with our shared humanity.

The journey begins by realigning with our self, our deepest, truest, most loving self.

 
Thanks for reading  me  today.  I hope you will consider joining over 100 of your colleagues on the journey to become a  Trauma Informed Professional

Stay safe.

Take care and care well, 

Mary