We all carry wounds.

Some of these wounds are deeper than others. They have placed themselves into the psych of our souls. They have invaded and started a battleground of our spirits. They have snatched our hearts and claimed our medicine to be their own.

Some wounds linger for generations. Even if the wound is not visible, or never has been, it has been engrained into our spiritual being. It becomes almost like a piece of clothing that we are tempted to never take off or are unaware that we have the power to do so. The outfit remains on and we get stagnant in exploring new forms of expression through fashion. The clothing becomes overused to the point of becoming battered, brittle, and bruised. These are the wounds which are the hardest to keep in check because we unconsciously become preoccupied with them.

We pick at them. We scratch at them. We cause them to bleed, swell, and ache over and over again.

Many of these wounds have caused us permanent scars. It is so embedded into our skin that we sometimes forget it is always there. When this scar is on our spiritual being it becomes even easier to fall into old patterns. Patterns that we were under the impression had finally been released, healed, and restored.

We forget that the scar is not us, but that it may influence the way we may behave.

We forget that the scar is not us, but that it sends us messages we may internalize.

We forget that the scar is not us, but always in relationship with us.

Many of these wounds are caused through relationship. We had an abusive relationship with our parents, and they with theirs, and so on.

Many times, there is an abusive link which needs to be severed within our ancestral lines. It has been passed on intergenerationally and must be confronted if we become aware of it. If we don’t, we who are in the tight grip of intersectional oppression can also become an abuser.

The abused becomes the abuser.

We fall into the trap of dehumanizing ourselves. Belittling our aspirations, talents, and skills as worthless. Maltreating our need for care, nourishment, and nurturance. Forcing ourselves to push past our own boundaries and limits for the sake of the oppressors highest good.

When we become aware that we are part of an abusive system created through the unpaid labor, recognition, and respect of slavery and genocide, we have a responsibility to heal our own abuse.

As human beings, we are prone to abuse, and abuse is a spectrum. We each must learn our own limits and stand firm within our own ground. It is about letting go of comparison, expectations, and the “shoulds” which occupy our mental space. This means we allow the habitual patterns which were birthed from our trauma to die. We acknowledge and give gratitude for the survival it gave us back then, but than we cut ties.

It is time to build a new relationship with the self, one which can bring balance.

One in which You are the center of your own universe.

I invite you to reflect and process these questions in the ways which are best for you:

How can you begin to reclaim your space?

What elements are you in need of to keep your universe in balance?

How can you embrace letting go old detrimental patterns which no longer serve you?

What support do you need and what is one step you can take to cultivate that?