Nurturing or Not

     When the feeling of 'lack' reaches absolute vacuum, desperate diminishment implodes, violently sucking everything from the immediate environment, leaving behind chaos, destruction & pain. Perpetrators of such crimes most likely have been severely traumatized, often from early childhood. Examples of this, such as mass shootings, remain etched in our minds forever, but are relatively rare in Canada and most other countries.

     Every one of us is however the recipient & result of intergenerational nurturing. Each one of us is here only because an unbroken chain of ancestors, from the beginning of life on earth, lovingly nurtured, sacrificed for, protected & wished a better life for their offspring. Intergenerational trauma is sadly common & terrible. But intergenerational nurturing is the universal 'life force' that brought us all here.

     “Everything responsible for our ‘human existence’ is due to an anonymous multitude of others who lived before us, whose achievements have been bestowed upon us as gifts.” H. Hass

     According to some wisdom traditions, one of the fundamental movements in nature is expansion & contraction. Our one, short, precious life can be predominantly expansive: opening ourselves to, learning about, connecting with & nurturing all of life, radiating peace, love & joy. Our 'tend & befriend instinct' is powerful and has ensured our survival, generation after generation.

     Attachment injury, many other forms of severe trauma and mental illness propel some in the opposite direction - contraction: rigid self-centeredness, isolation, paranoia, anger, hatred & violence. Such people need to be recognized early, diagnosed & treated for everyone's sake.