Tag: holiday trauma

Holiday Family Blessing or Curse?

Then, there’s your family.

The holiday ideal starts off with the reverent honoring of those who have given a portion of their lives (all gave some, some gave all) on Veterans Day which falls on November 11th in the USA. Then either the most anticipated or dreaded family get-together comes along as the Thanksgiving celebration. It is generally at this time of year that families which have been separated throughout the year, get together.

This “celebration” could be either amazing or horribly grueling depending on the nature and dynamics of your family’s cohesion, strength, and honor.

Let’s face it, all families are dysfunctional, so just let that expectation go. It’s a fantasy if you expect anything else, and to do so sets you up for discouragement every time. So, if your family’s a little whacko. So what? Let it go and learn to enjoy, even love, your family’s diversity.

But some families are so terribly broken, that there is very little thread of familial connection, and family members have suffered greatly in what should have been the tender, caring hands or the family, but suffered tragic drama and trauma instead.

What about those who have no family? Maybe, everyone they know in their family has passed away, and they are here, all alone at this moment which represents the coming together of family. No one would blame that person for feeling a bit down, lonely, or depressed, while everyone else is celebrating.

Or maybe their family is alive but separated by too many miles, or even worse miles of bad roads traveled in life. Family members can suffer so incredibly these days, and the effects of a traumatic childhood can be life-long, and even end the lives of the suffering children prematurely through expression as physical illness, disease, or suicide.

If you haven’t suffered tragically under the watch of your parents or were left to fend for yourself in any way possible as a young child, you have no idea of how bad it could be.

How bad is it? Well, consider this: The fastest-growing age group of suicides committed every day is that of 10- to 14-year-old children. So, you tell me, “How is this affecting our kids?”

And if Thanksgiving wasn’t bad enough, what about the looming mother of all familial holidays?

Of course, I’m referring to Christmas, that joyous time of year when families get together and bond. What about that? What if you’re a single parent, or even a couple, struggling financially to raise kids. You’re working so hard just to make the ends meet, now they wanna throw some God-forsaken shopping-spree holiday on top of that?

What could possibly be worse?

I don’t know. Maybe if you lived through all those holidays, you might make it the new year, celebrating with your family with some hope of maybe having a better life next year?

What? No hope?

It’s no wonder these are the most popular holidays to commit suicide. Let’s take a look at them:

Too much drama and trauma will kill you, and if it doesn’t kill you, some people are determined to do it themselves.

But don’t you let them get away with it.

You’re not going to check out. You’re not going to give them the satisfaction.

You can be betrayed by your family so many times it makes you want to puke just to think about it. You’ve been stabbed in the back so often or abused in any number of other ways, it’s a miracle that you can even stand, but here you are.

You are here.

And you know you came here to do some serious work, and that work starts today.

When I was at my lowest and I thought I couldn’t take one more step, one more breath, I decided to do something radical to make a difference in the world, and in doing so, I made a huge difference in myself.

I discovered that one person could make a difference, and that’s exactly what I did.

That year, instead of committing suicide over the holidays I decided to send love to others who might be going through the same thing. And as I engaged in this meditative prayer exercise, every cell of my body began to awaken.

Enthusiastically, I increased the range of my endeavor and started sending love to the world. And since then, I’ve had thousands of people join me in sending love to the world, which if even in some small way does make the world a better place.

One Side and the Other Side

In a world that has gone mad in many ways, it leaves so many depressed, hurting, broken, suffering, and even suicidal. This is the time of year that so many people commit suicide, when all the while incredible love and charity are thick in the air.

You walk down the street and you see the streets decorated, couples walking hand-in-hand, lights sparkling, cleverly adorned store windows. It’s the time of year that people feel more love, are more compassionate, share their abundance with others, are more likely to help others less fortunate, and family comes together to share in the love. And the kids, the kid’s hearts are filling with love and anticipation as they bask in the awareness that this is their favorite time of year.

Ahh, so lovely.

If this is the street you walk down. You stay there. Whatever you do, do not veer off the main thoroughfare. Because there is so much reality happening all around you that you might not be aware of. And if you did know, you might be shocked. And if you knew the truth about it, what would you do? What could you do?

You don’t have to look very far to have access to an enormous, overwhelming barrage of bad news about how horrible life is on this planet every day. Turn on the TV, radio, cell phone, tablet, any device any time and you will be instantly bombarded by how our planet is falling apart, our resources are dwindling, our people are dying, and more and more of them are taking their own lives because it’s just too hard to face one more day.

What’s the fastest-growing age range for suicide today? 10- to 14-year-old children. If that doesn’t get your attention, I don’t know what could.

That’s on one side.

On the other side is the statistics that bear out that our world is evolving, growing, and expanding. There are miraculous moments throughout this life happening every day. Miracles. People’s lives changing for the better. There is more growing awareness, prosperity, love, and compassion on this planet than ever before. And our resources are expanding as our consciousness and awareness expand and we are not limited to the resources that are doled out to us by corporations. We are getting smarter, wiser, healthier, living longer, and there’s nothing the pharmaceutical companies or the government can do to stop us, no matter how they try.

Everything is always getting better.

My friend is driving down the alleyway and he sees a man lying alongside the wall. He pulls over to offer the man his Chinese take-out, he was on the way home with. He pulls over, walks over to the guy and says, “Hey buddy.”

No response.

Gently nudges him with his foot, “Hey, guy.” And the guy is stiff as a board.

My friend calls 9-1-1 and they ask him not to touch anything and to stay with the body until they get there.

What happened? I don’t know.

But on the other side of that building, the sparkling holiday decorations, smiling kids, and shoppers did not miss a beat. Unaware that there was a man whose life had ceased out back in the alleyway by the dumpster.

This is the reality of it. Even as much as everything is getting better, there are those who do not want the news to get out about how better its getting. There is advanced science and technology happening right now, and some that have been around for years, that we will never hear about, if the corporations and the government have anything to say about it. And they do, for now, but we are becoming more and more aware.

Even so, while we’re living on a planet with more potential than ever before, we are being pummeled by the media and a system dedicated to keeping us enslaved and beat down. Many of us suffer every day, so depressed, and feeling more hopeless every day. So much so, that we cannot find the wherewithal to justify taking another breath from someone else who might be more deserving. So, we might think, “Why can’t I just die?” and left alone to that thought process, might even consider, “What’s the point? I’d be better off dead,” and start ideating about suicide.

And this life can exert enough pressure on your heart, your body, and your soul, that there’s just nothing left to give. Your life’s cup may be empty, leaving you with nothing left to motivate you to have any desire to wake up tomorrow.

But here’s what you failed to remember, and there are powers that exist in our world who hope you never remember who you are, and they’ve been doing everything possible to keep you from realizing who you really are.

Who are you?

Well, we don’t have time to go into every detail, but know this: You came to this planet with a unique set of skills, special abilities, and message to deliver, and when you were very young, you knew exactly who you were, but by the time you were five or six, the system had wiped any hope of you remembering who you were.

Now you are awakening. How do I know? Because you’re reading these words, right now. You are coming to an awareness that has never occurred to you with such clarity as at this moment. While from your current vantage point, it may appear cloudy, you are seeing things more clearly for the first time.

It’s no wonder you’re feeling a bit off. You’re just now realizing things are not as they seem.

You’ve got to hang in there. Dig down deep, remember who you really are, get to know and love that version of you, embrace your passion and your calling. Get out there and do what you were meant to do, say what you sent here to say.

The world needs you now more than ever.