[7luminaries]

Originally Posted by A human Being

Hey 7L, a thoughtful and well-articulated response as always

And you're right, of course, that for many of us to simply feel isn't so straightforward as it sounds on paper, because we've suffered severe trauma in the past and this has caused us to employ spontaneous coping strategies such as dissociation; quite often people will simply reach a point at which they can no longer keep their suffering at bay, and then it overwhelms them, causing them to have a breakdown, say, or violently lash out in extremely destructive ways. So to have support networks in place that offer love, compassion, and understanding is vital if we're truly to heal. We do ultimately need to feel in order to heal, though we may need those support networks in place in order to reach that point, depending on the nature of our wounds and our inner stability.

Hey there HumanB...thanks for your kind words and your thoughtful responses too, as always .

Yes when it gets real...that's when folks stop and look around and may have to take a pause to admit that this is where we live. In a place of normative and socially mandated predation, hostility, aggression, exploitation, and narcissism...with a lot of cruelty and sadism thrown into the mix. And yet we can each choose to bring either lovingkindness and care or hostility and harm into the world. We each have the choice to do and be truer to self, and in so doing to advocate by word and deed for a different place, a different society, and a set of normative ways and means.

Yes, I completely agree that we do need to feel to heal...and also that support systems are absolutely crucial to healing.

I'm going to go a bit further and say ongoing support systems in the form of community and society at large are necessary for all humanity to go beyond mere survival. To live in a place where healing and progress and thriving is first possible and then probable and lastly...where healing, growth, and actualisation become commonplace, normative, and might even be reasonably expected.

Peace & blessings, amigo
7L