I’ve had the privilege of meeting with someone over the years who has come from much severe trauma in their childhood to a point, they were not able to live in their present body, present in the day to day, rather their brain would at times resort to altering personalities which in many ways allowed them to survive, the difficulty at hand though, was it also hindered them from living into their present self, their true identity.

Over time through bonding, building secure attachment, through joyful connections and resting, we got to a place in the therapeutic relationship we could then dive into some of the traumatic memories that took place in childhood. As we joyfully connected, mixed in validation, showered empathy, and provided emotional/spiritual support, I watched this individual as the weeks, months, and years went by, start to experience more freedom, and even start dreaming about their future, perhaps for one of the first times.

To dream about the future is a sign of living in the present with your body, though, sounds like an oxymoron right? But let me explain, for many, “dreaming about the future” isn’t a reality, because they’re merely trying to survive the day to day or unsure if they will even be around 1 year from now.

But this individual, this individual has overcome and grown exponentially. Not only are they living in their present body, they are starting to discover who their best self is, their most alive self, the self that is living to their fullest potential.

And as this special person is growing in all these ways, they are starting to spread joy. How so? Through gift giving to others! I recently received a gift from this individual and it was one of the most beautiful and precious moments.