The Gifts of Trauma
Posted on May 27, 2014 by Victoria Coronado, One of Thousands of Spirituality Coaches on Noomii.
Transform your life by learning to see trauma as a teacher bringing gifts!
Every person experiences trauma at some point in their life. The very fact that you are in a human body means that you survived the trauma of birth! Yet, most of us experience traumatic events throughout our life that can rock us to our core, and leave us feeling powerless over the events of our lives. Whether you suffered through be being bullied as a child, abuse at the hands of someone you loved, the devastation of a natural disaster, the loss of a loved one, or an unfulfilled dream, your life has been touched by trauma.
However, how we choose to see our pain is what makes the difference between being a victim, a survivor, and thriving. We can easily get “stuck” in the place of blaming others (including God) for the ways in which we have suffered. We can tell if we are stuck because the thought of the trauma still brings up anger, shame, or guilt. We replay the story over and over in our conscious life through the re-telling of it to friends, co-workers or even therapists. This can be very cathartic, but if you find you have been telling the story for months or even years still blaming yourself or others, you are stuck!
You may also find that you don’t talk about it all, yet images appear in your dreams that haunt you, or you find you avoid people or situations that remind you of the trauma. You find that no matter how hard you try to keep from recalling the incident, the memories find a way to the surface through your unconscious mind. If this sounds familiar, you are stuck in the role of victim.
However, there is a way out of the pain and suffering! When we can take a step back from the stories we tell about our trauma, we can begin to ask the Divine Spirit to show us what lessons we can learn from the experience. No matter how painful, no matter how severe the trauma, there is a special gift that trauma has come to bring you. You will find it if you will take a moment to see it.
It takes tremendous courage to be willing to see trauma as a teacher. It means finding the strength to stop telling the story from the same view point. It means asking to see the situation from a higher place, and it may feel scary to leave the comfortable and familiar story behind. Yet, if you can step far enough back, you may find that the trauma you have suffered has made you an incredibly strong and resilient person. You may see that you have become resourceful, or determined, or compassionate toward others. You may find that trauma brings gifts of empathy, expression, and even the lesson of forgiveness.
As a spiritual counselor and guide, I can help you learn to see the gifts that trauma has brought to your life. I can help you see past limiting beliefs about who you are, and begin to see yourself through the eyes of the Divine Spirit. Learning to see this way can empower you to take risks again or perhaps for the first time. I encourage you to take a step toward moving from the place of victim or survivor, to one of thriving in this world. See if you can find just one gift or lesson that trauma has given you and you will be on the road to a transformation unlike anything you have ever known!
