I’ve experienced a lot of trauma in my life – childhood abuse, struggles with mental illness, alcoholism and drug addiction, homelessness, a bad car accident, hospital stays.

Yet there’s a lot of good stuff too! I am clean and sober. I went to college and got my degree, summa cum laude. I married a wonderful man and became stepmom to four great kids – who made me Grammy many times over. I’ve worked jobs that make me feel proud of my capabilities. My brother and I healed our relationship. I have a blog, with loyal readers.

In other words, my trauma isn’t my whole story. Rather, I share the hope that I don’t have to live in that misery for eternity. I live with joy. When I slip into the darkness – which is human, and inevitable – I can make my way back into the light. Sometimes I need help to get there, but I know deep down that it’s possible.

This is what Invincible Hope is all about.

As a teenager I was stuck in sheer hopelessness, and desperately suicidal. I saw a counselor as demanded by the state, but I didn’t think it could make a difference. I challenged my poor therapist, who later declared me the best education she ever got. I was quiet and unreactive. But she got to me. She connected with me when I didn’t want to share anything with anybody. She offered me a hand to help me climb out of the hole.

The hole.

The poem “Autobiography in Five Short Chapters” by Portia Nelson well describes my journey from trauma to healing – a journey that continues.

You can find the poem here: https://palousemindfulness.com/docs/autobio_5chapters.pdf

Sometimes I take the same street, despite the risk of the giant hole of hopelessness. It is comfortable and familiar, and I am used to the darkness. Sometimes I dance around the hole, tauntingly. Sometimes I trip over myself and land in the hole.

But on my best days, I turn down a different street – one that is well-lit, without a giant hole, and full of joy.

What street are you taking today?