...just be harmless." "...one person at a time..." These are quotes from Pastor Eric Camden, on the fictional television series, "Seventh Heaven"; which I have been bingeing. I think they are good words to live by - especially if you're attempting to help a Victim of Domestic Violence. They remind me, a lot, of the oath that Medical Professionals take - "First, Do No Harm". I used to think that I had to have a degree, or special training to be able to help people - I was helping people before I began my "Healing Process" - and now that I have been in this process almost half my life, it's almost auto-pilot. I have basically incorporated what would have helped me in my "Floundering Years", into my everyday life.

...or are you REALLY living ON the back of the picture??! I HONESTLY, thought, growing up and into my 30s - in spite of ALL that I knew about my family's dysfunctional state - that I grew up in a "Norman Rockwell family portrait". As I progressed into my "Healing Process", and started to see things realistically, I was amazed to learn that it wasn't.  My life was more like the back of the photo - blank, plain, dull and drab. No splashes of color. Nothing - even the frame was icky.

...has NEVER been my strong suit. Prime example: As a child, when people were coming for dinner, I would run from the front door to the kitchen, like, every 3 minutes, asking my Mother, "Where are they??!" (Mind you, this was in the 60s - NO cellphones!!! 😂😂😂 She would eventually tire of my "questions", and forbid me to ask her, anymore, until they arrived. As a result of my impatience, I always used to ask a LOT of questions. Eventually, I learned that even when I would get answers; it wasn't always the truth. It was just an attempt to "shut me up". I still don't ask a lot of questions. I am relearning what (and how) to do it. This has really helped my "waiting". Many times, even when you ask questions, the answer is (though often inferred) to just wait; so I have learned/am learning to be patient??! Wait!!! Is that why "patients" stay in "waiting rooms"??! 🤯 🤯 🤯

I was a rather precocious child - and I used to "make what I needed, happen", quite often. I had an awesome relationship with my Grandma A, my Mother's mother; but my Father's mother passed when he was only 14, from cancer. There was no love lost between him and his stepmother; and his Father passed several years before I was born.

...but do the work and begin to heal; THEN move on with your life. THAT is effective. Seeking revenge only keeps you stuck in THEIR cycle of abuse. I know many people that have never grown, and gone through any kind of healing process - although they have moved on with their life - and just "left it all behind", or "it has no bearing on who (they are), today", and many other phrases that allude to that sentiment.

EVERY day is an opportunity to start over - but, the difference is, you're NOT starting from "Ground Zero"; you're starting from the progress you've already made. Even if you "slip back" into old habits/thoughts/etc, EVERY day is a chance to move forward from the progress you've already made. Many people miss this - I did, FOR YEARS!!! Every time I messed up, I thought I had to start back at the beginning. It FINALLY "clicked", one day. Let me tell you - my life has NOT been the same, since.

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I heard Mel Robbins (Motivational Speaker, Author, Podcaster, etc) ask this in an ad on Facebook, recently. She asked if you were just randomly scrolling Social Media; or following people with a similar passion?

Every year, in January, at my Women's Group; and periodically throughout the year, we discuss our "Word of the Year". Over the last few years, I have felt "Perseverance" was my word; and still feel it, to this day. That's really the only way we can move on, and grow in our lives - if we persevere; especially when times get difficult.