Why This Life Was Chosen

     There are a number of myths that many of us begin to believe after experiencing trauma and I have been working on identifying them and dismissing them as the fiction that they are. The first one I want to talk about is that we believe our trauma stands between us and the grace of God. This happens because we entertain the idea that God never had our backs or supported us; we say to ourselves: if he did, he would not have allowed _______ to happen to me.
    The key to dispelling this myth is to accept the possibility that you, on the level of your soul, chose this life and the challenges that make up your life. I use the word possibility because I recognize how much you will want to resist that mindset. But I want you to consider how empowering it would be to see your life and your life circumstances as things that you chose. Again, you as in your soul. Some of you will immediately think, why on earth would I choose that experience for myself?!?! And you're right to pose that question. I encourage you to do so. WHY did you choose an experience so challenging and terrifying? I can't answer that for you but I can tell you what my answer is.
    I feel that I chose my traumas so that I can connect with other people who have faced similar hardships and show them the love and support that they need. As I do this, I will also learn how to be more compassionate towards myself as I continue on my own healing journey. The trauma I faced was never about me; it was about how I could show up for other people, thereby learning how to show up for myself. I chose my traumas so that I could embark on a journey that would require me to seek my own inner strength, my own light, my own power. And as I move through this journey, I feel that I am meant to chronicle it so that others may also be able to empower themselves and rediscover their voice.
    I hope that you understand that I am not using my trauma to manufacture self-importance. As stated two days ago, my value was not borne from trauma. My goal is to allow my story to become one of self-empowerment and as I work towards that end, I hope to share with others how they can do the same.

In order to own your story
you must understand
that you have everything to do
with how your chapters unfold.

Until you fully accept your power,
you will continue to see yourself
as a perpetual victim of circumstance.
And this need not be.

In order to own your life,
you must see yourself
as the writer, director, and cocreator
of your various experiences.

Until you fully accept your grace,
you will continue to see yourself
through the lens of your pain.
And this need not be.

Surviving trauma does not make you a victim.
It serves to remind you that you are a warrior
who chose to journey through the darkness,
so that you could discover your light.