| Becoming a New You |
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| Written by Laura | |
| Monday, 09 August 2004 | |
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When catastrophic events influence our lives, we may become, for a short time, highly focused on that event. It seems to dominate our lives for a while, but then, we integrate it into our lives, and become more than we were before. This can be difficult for friends and associates to accept. They may see us only as we were previously and be unable to comprehend how we have been changed. Or they may have known us only after the change so they see only that facet of us; when we move forward from the change, they are no longer as close to us as they were during the crisis.Major events can break friendships if people do not know how to deal with the changes they bring. So many people are uncomfortable dealing with grief, illness, special needs, and trauma, so they tend to go away in crises. Their disappearance can make us feel isolated and may also cause us to question our concept of who we are. Normality usually does return - a different normality. And we redefine our concept of ourselves - in a new way. We are who we were before, but more, and a little different. It can take time to really figure out what the changes mean to us and to settle into a new concept of self. Growth is good - it takes us places we would rather not go but which, nevertheless, enrich our lives. It can take time to work through what growth means to us and to figure out how to integrate what we now know into what we knew before. We emerge slowly, like a butterfly from a coccoon. We need to be patient as this transformation occurs. |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 12 September 2007 ) |
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