The house we were given

After listening to a podcast this week, I wanted to repeat a metaphor that really hit home for me;

“Imagine you inherit a house in your childhood. The walls are damp, the furniture broken or even non existent. There’s clear signs of a house fire which leaves you with very little to survive on.

Is it your fault that the house has been neglected and is in such disrepair? Of course not.

Is it now your responsibility to make the best of the space you have to live in? Absolutely.”

Of course, we can choose to accept what we have been given and not to attempt to regain control, but we can expect that this will leave us in a negative position without the right resources to thrive. Taking control could mean different things for each of us.

For instance, my version of taking control is ensuring that I get enough sleep as, after years of introspection and thought mapping, I recognise that sleep deprivation is a big contributor to the anxiety that I experience as a result of such.

I think this is a really effective way of thinking about trauma. Is it our own fault that we have experienced traumatic events? Of course not. But we can now take responsibility for moving past these events and thriving as best we can, regardless of the challenges that we have faced.