Trauma leaves a chemical mark on a person's genes, which can then be passed down to future generations.

I believe that trauma can be passed down from one generation to another. I think that trauma leaves a chemical mark on a person's genes, which then permeates down to future generations. Does this mean that some of us cannot change? I also believe that we can inherit their resilience, right? I am always a work in progress, present in life, and feeling everything so deeply. In my observation, there are so many people asleep in their lives, just going through the same habitual motions day in and out.

For a long time, I was a shell of a woman, existing without a real purpose. Trauma forced me to examine my life and to be brave. I achieved change in myself by helping others heal from their trauma. I no longer look for my flaws, but see my attributes. Trauma has taken my weaknesses and made them strengths. Sharing my experiences gives me motivation to always do better and to break out of the fetal position from being a victim. I use my trauma to propel me forward and pave my path.

Change is hard, and if the only lesson you can learn from yours is to run away and not try, then that is a real tragedy. Life is a moving entity, always meant to be in motion and learn from. Time and age mean nothing. While you are still breathing, you are still manifesting the life you deserve. Anything is possible and perhaps we start journeys in our lives for our children to finish for us.

What I know, is that it is never too late to change. Maybe you cannot go home, or you cannot start something new because you feel stuck? You feel trapped in a mental purgatory. We have all been there. The only prison we are in is the one we put ourselves in. Trauma is not fun, it is a living hell, but we can always learn from it rather than surrender to it.

There are so many facets to life, but instinctively what we all want, is to go home. Staying with someone and loving them no matter what is hard. It is easy to go find someone new and reinvent yourself in their eyes without flaws, but you are running. You are running away from the inevitable part of life, which is death. As time passes, you realize that what is most important is for someone to know you, every inch of you.

So, if trauma can be echoed through generations, then so can LOVE. If abandonment can burn through your soul, then so can PRESENCE. If betrayal can cross oceans, then so can LOYALTY. You may have suffered a lot of losses in your life, but you have also had a lot of love if you choose to see it. We have certain predispositions for health issues, that is proven, but do we have to fall prey to them? NO! We can take our lives into our own hands and make healthy decisions to change that mapped-out course, just like we can with trauma.

The end game feels scary, doesn’t it? What I am supposed to say, is that everything happens for a reason, right? We are all stronger for going through trauma, but somedays when we feel sad, we forget that it all happened for the best. We all make choices, and sometimes it may be hard to get out of that cycle, to find the positive in an awful situation. Shit is not fair, inheriting someone else’s baggage sucks, and trying to understand how we deserved a horrible set of circumstances when we didn’t deserve it makes no sense. Trauma can rip through our lives and leave us chained to it, or we can find the courage to cut those chains and brave our future.

For me, I may not find that one person to share my life with. I may not have all the money in the world to do things I would like to, but what I can do, is be there for my children. That is what matters most to me. Life will mold around me, as long as I remain optimistic and hopeful. Trauma may have scarred my soul, but love has built a new foundation in my heart.