" The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth ". -African Proverb
We all carry a wounded inner child inside of us. This fragile child may once have been to war when he wasn’t equipped to do so. As a result, he’s collected scars. And while scars may slowly fade away with time, we never truly lose them. They become a part of us. Healing isn’t a linear process. It is one long and difficult road paved with obstacles along the way. Putting our inner child first - and loving him through and through no matter what comes our way - is the most important promise we can make to ourselves during this journey.
One of the most painful realizations I’ve made throughout my healing journey is that some types of pain never fully go away. And in a way, knowing this can help us to get comfortable with the fact that pain is an inherent part of life. To seek a life without it is not possible. Human existence will always entail suffering. We may never be free of pain - but with time and healing- we can become greater than it.
Healing your broken inner child is a lifelong journey. It requires first and foremost an important dose of self-awareness. To be aware of the patterns that we’ve been carrying all the way into our adult years. Our way of relating to ourselves and to the world around us stems from the beliefs we’ve internalized as children.
We need to reparent this fragile child inside of us. To gift him with unconditional love. To offer him unlimited protection. To give him the space to be. Bust most of all, to promise him that we will never abandon him. We ought to give him everything we perhaps never received as a child ourselves.
In a world of constant distraction and stimulation - it’s all too easy to dismiss the signs that we need to heal our own heart. Covering one’s pain is too often the choice most make. Life has showed me firsthand how doing so is a very dangerous way to live by. Like an iceberg, mistaking the surface for the bottom can lead to an ultimate brutal collision. It’s a risky bet to wait until the worst case scenario unfolds to address all the hurt we’ve accumulated inside of us.
The stakes are high when the survival of our own precious inner child is on the line. It’s a shame no one ever taught us how crucial it is to be gentle and compassionate toward ourselves. After all, the way we treat the most vulnerable and damaged parts of ourselves will be reflected by the way we react when our own brokenness collides with the one of another being.
Take a trip down memory lane. Do you remember when was the first time your inner child got hurt? Did you let him express that pain or did you suppress it?
It is never too late to cleanse your soul from all the pain and impurities that has been sitting inside it.
Choose the healing avenue.
Choose your inner child.
He needs you more than ever .
Come home.
