I recently met someone special and we got to know each other deeply very quickly. Probably it was because our friendship began on a different plane, free from this world of social posturing, empty chitchats and sexual overtones. It was simply a case of two souls meeting each other by grand design: we also happened to be reading the same book (Sapiens: A History of Being Human by Yuval Noah Harari) at the same time, albeit in two different languages. But right from the start, we spoke the same language, laughing about the same silly things and understanding the deeper things without the need for words.
He did not have a good time in his childhood. And like many wounded souls who were wounded by a parent, he did all the 'bad' things in his youth. It is the obvious course of action. As the Franciscan friar, Richard Rohr said, "If we do not transform our pain, we will most assuredly transmit it". Pain is like a monster that cannot be contained.
Photograph (author's own): Flight to light, London to Phuket flight
Few of us are fortunate enough to escape childhood unscathed, as childhood is the time we are most vulnerable to hurts, especially the hurt inflicted by primary caregivers (often parents). This is one of the reasons why my children's father and I are absolutely committed to making our children's childhood as safe, beautiful and magical as possible - despite the harshness of the world we live in - because we have seen enough people who are outwardly successful, yet these 'accomplished' folks are walking wounded on the inside, their lives blighted by their inability to walk away from past damage. They go on, passing their pain to others, because that is the nature of the beast.
In his late 30s, this special person I write about is self-aware, reflective, gentle and deeply in touch with himself. I find that he has shown tremendous courage to face his past and evolve from it, rather than deny, run away, build walls. Totally not in keeping with the rest of his appearance, he has a prominent tattoo on his forearm to remind him always of his path towards transformation. Once we own something, we can begin to transform the beast within us into what we want it to be. Running away does not help.
It could easily have gone another way with this special person - as I have seen in several others - if he had not been brave enough to transform his pain. He could have gone on destroying everything in his path, and in the process, destroy himself. Rather, he makes the flowers in his path bloom just by being the way he is.
But what I find most amazing is the depth of love in him for his family. Today, he is flying home to be with a sick relative. This is something I resonate deeply with: he is not stingy with the things that matter most in life, namely giving of oneself freely still, despite past injustices that had been done to him. Of course, when you give generously, you leave yourself open to potential hurt down the line. But really, it is the only way to be, to find our own salvation in the good things we do for others in the name of love.
Photograph (author's own): Views over Patong, Phuket. Its beauty escape many people.
First published in www.raisinghappystrongkids.com