Recently my husband and I were out for drinks with another couple and the conversation turned to- of all things- Michael Jackson. The comment was made that since he never had a childhood he was emotionally stuck at 7 years old his entire life and there was nothing he could do about it. That statement lead to a minor argument (the drinks probably didn’t help). My position was that if, anyone, the guy who wrote “Man in the Mirror” should have been able to look at his own reflection and say “Hey- we need to figure a few things out here”. We all eventually agreed to disagree and moved on to other topics.
The point I was trying to make then- and now- is that no one has a perfect childhood. Every single person has something that’s happened to them when they were younger than causes pain to recall years if not decades after the fact. However, once we reach that magical place called “adulthood” we have to make a choice- are we going to wallow in sadness and self-pity forever or are we going to move on?
I am not suggesting that this is an easy task for anyone- especially anyone whose early experiences included abuse. I am not suggesting that I have it all figured out either- I am nothing if not a work in progress! However, everyone who considers themselves to be an adult needs to take a good hard look at themselves in the mirror somehow, someway and decide that their past is just that. For some therapy is an excellent option- I know it was highly beneficial for me.
So, go ahead. As Michael himself put it- If you wanna make the world a better place take a look at yourself and then make that change.
Nicely put Becky