After a recent session focusing on inner child healing, a client of mine wrote this beautiful poem. I received permission from her to share it, because I think it so powerfully captures the process of working with old imprints, shining light on how they are affecting us today, and treating them with the healing balm of understanding, attention, and love.
THE CHILD WITHIN REMEMBERS
Hiding as a form of protection
Protection from a current threat or
From an experience once lived.
The body remembers
Sending one back to that time, that place, and
That response.
Not fully knowing that the threat
No longer exists.
A response, behavior is learned
As a young child
Who is trying to survive.
She’s protecting herself from what she
Once knew to be harmful,
Unsafe, and unwanted.
The child within remembers.
She remembers the pain, the suffering and
At times returns to that state.
Shutting down, disconnecting, scared, and
All she is trying to do now is
Protect herself from reliving that trauma.
She remembers the threat and what it felt like
As a young girl, so she goes
Into hiding.
Silencing her voice.
Freezing, numbing out, and releasing thy
Self from an unimaginable past.
Triggered by the slightest
Tone, eye contact, and phrase,
Or worse yet…by love and attention.
Which is what she has longed for,
For so long…
Love, connection, and being seen
Sending her into hiding, uncovering
What she has hidden from herself and others
For protection.
She goes inward
To the little girl that survived.
A little girl who is scared, angry,
Resentful, and uncertain of how to love and
How to trust.
The little girl who has held onto so much
To protect herself and others.
Is now given the freedom to release,
Express, and begin to know the
Little girl who blesses life with joy,
Happiness, laughter, and love.
Who speaks clearly, is heard, and seen.
Who no longer hides and instead
Shines brightly and radiantly.
This little girl is beginning to come out
Of hiding in darkness,
entering and filling with light.
Surrounded by love allows her to practice
Receiving and offering love.
She feels a sense of relief, less tension
Held in her body.
Beginning to speak her truth where before
She was scared and frozen
To speak her words.
This little girl who was once trapped in hiding
Allows herself to emerge and be seen.
Learning how to connect, love, and speak
Her truth.
She ebbs and flows through this
Journey as she discovers her triggers,
Moves through the uncomfortable,
And acknowledges the hurt, pain, and
Suffering she once experienced.
Discovering that she no longer [has] to
Feel and be a victim.
She begins to believe she too gets to be
Safe, free, and loved.
—Kelly Raynes Joy
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