Regardless of the experiences of my past, I am no longer a victim to anyone or anything.  And that means I will no longer be a victim to myself either.  The perpetrator of my abuses lives a million miles away from me, in terms of influence and present tense control, and I have forgiven myself for carrying the burden of his shames for the many years that I did so.  I have released the tethers that once bound me to the feelings of blame, resentment and powerlessness.  And I have reinstated my authority to override the tyranny that once governed my thoughts and restricted me from experiencing my own greatness.

I am not the world’s greatest victim.  My pain, my agonies, my emotional turmoil are no greater or lesser than those of any other individual who has known the pain, agony and emotional turmoil of childhood abuse.  I am not in a competition to trump your sorrows or match your tortures.  I am not on a path to seek revenge against the tormenter of my youth.  I have confronted him on my own terms and discovered that I am no longer the fearful, dutiful and easily manipulated child that once I was.  I discovered that I am no longer afraid of him, because I now represent the one thing that he fears more than anything else in the world – possibly even more than death – and that is:  The Truth.

Much of my work, thus far, has been based upon the experiences of my past.  They were created to provide me with a voice and an outlet to share my pain, my healing and my journey towards the wellness and wholeness that I spent decades trying to achieve through alcohol and drug abuse and sexual promiscuity.  I have emerged from the muddiest depths, and, like the wondrous lotus, I bloom and proliferate simultaneously, because what I have is not mine to keep but, instead, mine to share.