Stamps

Our past experiences, especially ones from our childhood have a great impact on our adult life. The things we go through as kids "place a stamp on us".  Whether or not we grew up in a loving home with or without our biological parents, this shapes our view of life and influences the way we deal with situations.

I grew up seeing abuse all around me and even experiencing it for myself. I was somewhat happy and somewhat broken. One of the stamps placed on me read  "ANGRY". I was angry all the time,  and always wore what some people would call "a screw face". I was like a bottle of soda being shaken every time i was abused. I would be shaken more and more and because i couldnt retaliate i would often explode on others. They were like the hands uncorking that bottle of soda whether consciously or unconsciously. I believed this stamp and i lived by it for so long.

What changed was that i decided to pick myself up and realize that while those stamps spoke my truth, they didnt have to be my only stamps. There is more to me than just that, I am more than a woman with an angry stamp from her childhood. I think its important to keep these stamps, they all form a part of our story. More importantly though, we need to acquire more  stamps, we must to grow and better ourselves.

Through my other life experiences i was able to see that i needed to be more than just an angry child. I could be that woman who was an angry child but learned how to control my anger. I could be that woman who learned that happiness has to be established from within. I could be that woman who learned to love herself and be a positive influence to others. What about you? What stamps did you get? Have you ever thought about your childhood and how its manifesting itself in your life now?