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I currently work one-on-one with a student four hours every school day. She is one of the most lovely people I have ever met… I feel honored and blessed to meet with her. However, for such a young age, she has experienced more trauma than most.

We spend almost four hours a day in one room… just the two of us… with NO set curriculum! We can do whatever we want! One of the activities we do is read a book together. Her MOM gave her the book, “The Body Keeps the Score” by Bessel Van Der Kolk, because she thought it might help in dealing with the trauma this young woman has suffered. We only finished chapter two this afternoon but already this is one of my favorite books of all time.

My friend reads and I get to listen. Today the day passed so quickly and before we knew it, it was ALMOST time to go… but I asked (pleaded in a way) her if we could please finish chapter two before she left. “Of course. No problem.” In 10 minutes of listening to this sweet girl read this amazing book, I wanted to cry… or rage… or maybe just have someone hug me. The author was talking about how “Big Pharma” got started in the mental health field and mentioned so many things that broke my brain and crushed my soul… but then he wrote these words… “We are participants in our own healing, not patients…”

We are all an active member of a community (whether we recognize this or not) working to become the person we are at this very moment and (hopefully) working to become the person we want to be in the moments to come. We are participants… We are active… We are powerful…

My friend, me, you, every one of us… we are participants… in our own healing… and we are powerful!