by 
“Bad things happen fast, but we live through them slow.” ~ C. Corinthos
It’s in the aftermath of a tragic event that life takes on slow motion. Because sometimes things that happen are so big and so terrible, and they hurt so bad, that we just can’t process them all at once. We have to learn to adjust. Slowly. One day at a time.
Sometimes it’s day by day, or it may be hour by hour, or even minute by minute. When we think, how can I survive what happened? How will my life ever be normal again? We know damn sure that it won’t be the same. Because tragedy changes you. You will not be the same as you were before. Time will mark before and after. It’s a slow road back.
I’ve been thinking about this after a friend sent me an article saying that many empaths have survived childhood trauma. You? she wonders. Yes, me, too I reply. I’ve read several articles about this. We seem to have this experience in spades. For myself, someone intentionally tried to extinguish my inner light. It was a bad thing that happened fast. And this emotional scarring as a child has led me to seek out healers and healing. And my empathic traits expanded exponentially. It’s like I was lifted out of myself for something more.
This poem by Constantine Peter Cavafy is on my desk. He says that our journey is hard, but our strength and resilience can see us through. It’s a reminder to us to keep moving forward and to not let the monsters of our past determine our future. It was a favorite of Jackie Kennedy Onassis who survived tremendous public tragedy, and it was read at her funeral.
As you set out in search of Ithaka, pray that your journey is long, full of adventures, full of awakenings. Do not fear the monsters of old… You will not meet them in your travels if your thoughts are exalted and remain high, if authentic passions stir in your mind, body and spirit. You will not encounter fearful monsters if you do not carry them within your soul, if your soul does not set them up in front of you.
