I'm not sure I agree with this. Unless I am misunderstanding the concept. This just doesn't feel health to me. Yes, you never can erase the past but using it as armor only prevents you from being an open, real and vulnerable person in the present and that means you miss out on the best that life has to offer. Owning our stories and integrating them with our sense of self is the opposite of armoring up. Part two is, at some point the war IS over and learning to leave it in the past is one of the best things you can do for yourself. If you are wearing armor today from a war that is in the past, you are exhausting yourself by fighting ghosts, and you are keeping that past pain alive. I'm not saying forgive and forget by any stretch. That's not realistic or useful either. This quote sounds like the writer is stuck in the past. And you can't live a full life that way. I hope everyone is doing OK on their journeys and giving themselves credit for getting through each day. XOXO
Hey SS1, I read this as someone experiencing trauma. Who is still battling ghosts. Who wishes they could take the armour off but the war feels as though it's still happening. So yes, I agree with everything you've written. For some, however, that trauma needs to be shed in order to remove the armour.
Ooh, I can totally see that. When you are in the middle of it, it does feel like the war is still on. And the trauma can take such a long time to resolve, that it can feel like the war is still on, even when the threat has been removed. I had been thinking in terms of older stuff, like my own long past hurts vs what it felt like in the first few days, weeks, months, year after dday. Thanks so much for explaining. :)
I read this as I’m shedding that armor of my past that I used to get through the trauma of childhood and the shit my h chose to put both of us through...just my thoughts...
Is it armor? Is it a much needed awakening to self care? Is it a stat code blue call to start breathing again because your drowning in todos for everyone but you, being strangled by perfection which is exhauting and while i didnt need to have my heart hallowed from my chest, air sucked out of me and knee dip in a shitshow that hurt i can do without but aproaching the new year into the 5 year mark authentic feels a hell of alot better then the rose colored glasses i used to wear. The path was a brutal one to walk but im navigating it and some needed self change has arouse .. im wounded not broken and im way more selective now ... armor is heavy ... just be and take time to breath and u days u still cant .. just show up right Ell . Funny i giggled this post made me think of Olive Mae where you at girl and her story of when it all changed for her and she shouted ...fuck this shit Tuesday i think it was. You all are my saving grace i hate that im here but so glad im not alone. Still looking in my rearview mirror but now present font and center in the moment too ..... prefection and masks are exhauting and suffocating... just be yo . I recall a quote in here years ago about never knowing how strong you were till strong is the only choice to be ... and my most fav thats fitting to this ... glinda the good witch tells dorothy youve had the power all along my dear you just had to learn how to use it. Take care my betrayed wives prettiest
Wounded, You wrote: "authentic feels a whole lot better than the rose-colored glasses". I agree 100%. I was such a rose-colored glasses girl because it felt terrifying to pay attention to what felt wrong. And though I still tend toward optimism, it rooted in authenticity. In what is important to me, in ackowledging that my needs/wants matter. That I don't have to always prioritize others. Give me authenticity any day of the week.
I'm not sure I agree with this. Unless I am misunderstanding the concept. This just doesn't feel health to me. Yes, you never can erase the past but using it as armor only prevents you from being an open, real and vulnerable person in the present and that means you miss out on the best that life has to offer. Owning our stories and integrating them with our sense of self is the opposite of armoring up.
ReplyDeletePart two is, at some point the war IS over and learning to leave it in the past is one of the best things you can do for yourself. If you are wearing armor today from a war that is in the past, you are exhausting yourself by fighting ghosts, and you are keeping that past pain alive.
I'm not saying forgive and forget by any stretch. That's not realistic or useful either. This quote sounds like the writer is stuck in the past. And you can't live a full life that way.
I hope everyone is doing OK on their journeys and giving themselves credit for getting through each day. XOXO
Hey SS1, I read this as someone experiencing trauma. Who is still battling ghosts. Who wishes they could take the armour off but the war feels as though it's still happening. So yes, I agree with everything you've written. For some, however, that trauma needs to be shed in order to remove the armour.
DeleteOoh, I can totally see that. When you are in the middle of it, it does feel like the war is still on. And the trauma can take such a long time to resolve, that it can feel like the war is still on, even when the threat has been removed.
DeleteI had been thinking in terms of older stuff, like my own long past hurts vs what it felt like in the first few days, weeks, months, year after dday. Thanks so much for explaining. :)
I read this as I’m shedding that armor of my past that I used to get through the trauma of childhood and the shit my h chose to put both of us through...just my thoughts...
ReplyDeleteAmen for that. Armor is heavy. It might protect us from pain but it also removes us from pleasure.
DeleteIs it armor? Is it a much needed awakening to self care? Is it a stat code blue call to start breathing again because your drowning in todos for everyone but you, being strangled by perfection which is exhauting and while i didnt need to have my heart hallowed from my chest, air sucked out of me and knee dip in a shitshow that hurt i can do without but aproaching the new year into the 5 year mark authentic feels a hell of alot better then the rose colored glasses i used to wear. The path was a brutal one to walk but im navigating it and some needed self change has arouse .. im wounded not broken and im way more selective now ... armor is heavy ... just be and take time to breath and u days u still cant .. just show up right Ell . Funny i giggled this post made me think of Olive Mae where you at girl and her story of when it all changed for her and she shouted ...fuck this shit Tuesday i think it was. You all are my saving grace i hate that im here but so glad im not alone. Still looking in my rearview mirror but now present font and center in the moment too ..... prefection and masks are exhauting and suffocating... just be yo . I recall a quote in here years ago about never knowing how strong you were till strong is the only choice to be ... and my most fav thats fitting to this ... glinda the good witch tells dorothy youve had the power all along my dear you just had to learn how to use it. Take care my betrayed wives prettiest
ReplyDeleteWounded,
DeleteYou wrote: "authentic feels a whole lot better than the rose-colored glasses". I agree 100%. I was such a rose-colored glasses girl because it felt terrifying to pay attention to what felt wrong. And though I still tend toward optimism, it rooted in authenticity. In what is important to me, in ackowledging that my needs/wants matter. That I don't have to always prioritize others. Give me authenticity any day of the week.