The End of Child Abuse Begins Here: A Meditation For Courage

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Photo belongs to Asher Pal, courtesy of Flickr.
Photo belongs to Asher Pal, courtesy of Flickr.

{Treat others as they would like to be treated: The Platinum Rule ~ Tony Alessandra}

A meditation for those who, bearing the emotional weight of insufficient childhoods, have closed up, stopped growing and ceased shining.

May I respect my right to BE. May I revel in my very existence. May I pause and notice my chest rising and falling, my feet padding across the wood floor, my voice speaking, laughing, singing. May I wake up to the beauty that surrounds me. May I be filled.

May I take my place in the nature of things, unburdening myself with worry over outcomes. May I let go of the “perfect popular fancy pants” me I thought I wanted. May I see the life I have. May I release myself from approval games. May I let go of self-protection and absorption. May I eradicate emotional abuse by refusing to bully myself. May I come out of hiding. May I be my own voice of justice.

May I cease to fear my feelings. May I understand that feeling pain does not condemn me. May I not silence my own cries. May my narrow perspective about my human struggles be blasted open. May I adore my glaring flaws, all the frantic awkwardness and pit of bottomless need. May I be transformed by compassion. May I glimpse the part of myself that has never been wounded. May I be swept away altogether into Love.

— — — — — — —

May I respect my child’s right to BE. May I revel in my child’s very existence. May I pause and notice my child, their chest rising and falling, their feet padding across the wood floor, their voice speaking, laughing, singing. May I help my child wake up to the beauty that surrounds them. May my child be filled.

May I allow my child to take their place in the nature of things, unburdening them with worry over outcomes. May I let go of the “perfect popular fancy pants” child I thought I wanted. May I see the child I have. May I release my child from approval games. May I let my child live free of self-protection and absorption. May I eradicate emotional abuse by refusing to bully my child. May I never force my child into hiding. May I be my child’s voice of justice.

May I cease to fear my child’s feelings. May I understand that my child’s feeling pain does not condemn them. May I not silence my child’s own cries. May my narrow perspective about my child’s human struggles be blasted open. May I adore my child’s glaring flaws, all the frantic awkwardness and pit of bottomless need. May my child be transformed by my compassion. May I glimpse the part of my child that has never been wounded. May I allow my child to be swept away altogether into Love.

— — — — — — —

Though it may seem less serious than other types of abuse, in all reality, emotional abuse, which includes things like judging, shaming, blaming, criticizing, belittling, teasing, insulting, intentional cruelty and manipulation, is a serious and damaging experience. The chronic, day-in day-out nature of emotional abuse simply wears away at a child’s emerging essence and paralyzes healthy development. Click here and here or here to read more about child emotional abuse. Click here to find out all the ways you can practically make a difference in preventing child abuse in the Denver metro area.

If you have a serious concern about the safety of a child, please call 1-800-4-A-Child for help.

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As a beautifully ordinary, ​​wanna-be poet with her heart on her sleeve, Lorissa ​married right ​out of college. She and her new husband​ took themselves to Denver where rich with hope and student loans (read: young and broke)​ she put a counseling degree in her back pocket. With a heart tightly wound, she worked many years with children and families as a play therapist. ​Motherhood brought twin daughters and a surprise son all within 18 months and f​our years later she's still unraveling, in a good way. Lorissa founded The Well Sessions: a listening company, where she offers counseling over the phone. Additionally, she leads and participates in a local parent resource group, focused on supporting and educating parents toward connection and social change.

4 COMMENTS

  1. Beautiful post, Lorissa! I simply loved what you wrote “May I pause and notice my child, their chest rising and falling, their feet padding across the wood floor, their voice speaking, laughing, singing.” So lovely. What a fantastic reminder to be careful with the words we speak to our little ones, using encouragement rather than shame to parent and raise them. Reminds me of a motto I once heard, “Our words can be poison or medicine.” Thank you!

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