Choice.

Pain refuses choice.

• It says you can’t avoid me.
  You can’t control me.
• You can deny me.
  I’m still here.
• You can be in a rage, depressed, and victimized.
  I’m still here.
• You can anesthetize me with alcohol, food, and drug abuse.
  I’m still here.
• You can come up with all sorts of escape behaviors. That interferes with your honesty and your ability to be present with yourself.
  I’m still here.
• You can avoid getting close enough or spending enough time with others who may recognize your true feelings. And the pervasive emptiness your masking.
  I’m still here.
• You can appear very capable and seem to put out an impenetrable force field that says, “Don’t ask me about myself. Don’t push me.”
  I’m still here.

While you can’t relive the past, you can choose to heal from the pain of the past.

Little by little, you can let down those defenses.

Once helped you survive but are actually hurting you now.

You can learn new life skills so you can begin to accept and internalize that it is truly possible for you to be imperfect and still be lovable; make mistakes and still be forgiven; and feel and express your feelings openly, honestly, safely.