Freedom

Couragious poem and beautifully spoken.

a moving poem!
it reminds me of Sinead o'connor song that speaks out against abuse in every field of life..
I could feel the process in this poem, the process of getting free of the evils of the past , a release from the control of the past..an educational as well as artistic acheivement!bravo!

What a great poem about conquering the evil effects of abuse. Good for you!

Cheryl, this is as beautiful as it is horrific. The price paid for the freedom, the battle waged to safeguard and protect the creativity and beauty and nurture oneself to a place of freedom, is waged and won daily by you and many others. Thank you for your courage, and openness.

This is such powerful speech, very self affirming and showing great inner strength at a time of growth.

Beautiful, powerful, yet honest and vulnerable.

I love this Cheryl. Can I send it to my dad?

Thanks.

Yay! Go, Cheryl!

Yes, you are smart!
Yes, you are creative!
Yes, you are beautiful!

LOVE it. That speaks volumes

YEEEESSSSSS!!!!!! This should be an anthem for so many survivors of abuse!!

Becky....yes, feel free to send it to your dad.......

Thank you everyone. A memory came to me yesterday that helped me to see the light.....and connect some missing pieces. And for the first time, I really do feel free.

A strong affirmation of freedom, and as you were meant to be, Cheryl. Blessings to you.

Magi

Very powerful Cheryl....Stay free and don't look back.

I will not repeat all that has been said about this piece, all of it is true, but I would like to share a perception I had while I was reading it. For years I sought to find "reasons" for the feelings I had of not being worthy, of not being good enough, of not being able to break free from the self abuse of alcoholism. True, I did find some reasons, and I did identify experiences and individuals that seemed to have played a role in the development of my perspective of myself. I had someone to "blame", but that did not really eleviate the painful nature of my state.
I began to realize that the "past" was only relevant in terms of how it impacted me in the present, the only moment I can really live in. The true "cause of my "grief" was to be found in my internal habitual patterns of thought and behavior, and these were the true abusers.
I had to be free from myself, and the critic that sat upon my shoulder, or I would never really be "free". I was a prisoner of my own mind. I perpetuated my own persecution. And in some perverse sort of way it had become "my identity". subsequently when I was reading your "poem", I found myself speaking to myself, and not to any other person or personal experience. But I did also find myself adding an acceptance, and then a letting go of my tormentor, who had become nothing more than a habitual way of seeing myself. The freedom I sought was to be found inside myself, and that was where my awareness became centered. In the stillness of awareness, I told myself, stop persecuting and criticising me. I am as I should be , and I am perfect. Of course with this awareness comes the compassion and understanding to forgive and to move on, and to allow myself to really be free.

Bless you in your quest for wholeness.

Perry...thank you for your comment. All that you said here is so true. We do tend to hold ourselves prisoners with our thoughts. We tend to take on what was placed upon us and wear it like some kind of badge. We tend to forget that we can remove that badge and be who God meant for us to be......

Hi to all,

I have shared a struggle to get free like many of you. This has moved be along a path through religion, psychology and now metaphysics. I find is sad that most of us suffer silently. I believe unresolved trauma is the leading cause of most of the social ills of our time (drug and alchol abuse, child abuse, crime of all kinds)

I discovered the discipline of traumatology. It is powerful in bringing relief and recovery to trauma sufferers. My word is this: Don't accept less than a full, happy and productive life. There is help.

Blessings,

Surely Perry's points are valid, and I have no doubt you did not really intend this piece for the ears of your once tormentor(s). We are a prisoner of our own making, others are but wardens of our sentence.