There’s no Shit it’s Just Compost.
That’s what I’ve told my clients …the ones recovering from trauma and abuse. It’s been several decades since I first began using that phrase and it still works. It’s always brought ah ha’s, laughter and head nods. Anyone who gardens successfully knows that the best soil is full of decomposed shit, and that makes for a healthy ecosystem.
While comparing the crappy experiences in life with actual poo might seem like a stinky metaphorical stretch for some, to those of us who’ve been delving deeply into the results of racism, sexism, elitism, pollution et al, we are realizing we can dig deep enough to uproot the corporate parasites, political vermin and their poisonous thought forms (racism, antisemitism, violence, homophobia, greed, etc), and soon we may be able to successfully grow an improved garden of humankindness and wellbeing.
Ordinarily or perhaps I should say in previous years I might’ve been more optimistic about politicians and corporate powerbrokers, But in hindsight I’d have to say probably not. And no I’m not exactly gonna talk about the police because everybody else is and I think I currently need something healthier on which to focus. Oh? Don’t get me wrong, or do, I think those in law-enforcement require even more than “sensitivity” training classes.
I know this from my many years of experience with domestic violence and trauma survivors, because I had numerous clients who were partners/wives of either police, sheriffs, military, politicians and more, and that many of their perpetrators got into enforcement because they had mucho unresolved emotional issues, many having been victims themselves and knowingly or not just hag to pass on their dis-ease, but with a gun, baton, steel toed boots or knees. Now that might be putting a “group” in a big hole with a bigger shovel. Well, so be It. Yeah of course I’ve known some fairly well adjusted cops…But they ain’t the majority and that’s a crying shame.
I think anybody working with other people, be it police, teachers, health professionals, food service etc, really everyone needs to be regularly practicing some serious self reflection at the very least for a set period, with the professional support of psychologists. Face it. We live in a messed up world with a bunch of folk who’ve not done their inner work and some of them could give a rats ass about anyone else. This is bound to be more than troublesome. Add to it centuries of oppression by those even more fucked up.
Usually the only time people in law-enforcement or the military see a psychologist is after something really horrible has happened to them or was a result of their action. That’s ass backwards. And while seeing a shrink is definitely helpful after the fact, a well trained/practiced/balanced zen approach to conflict is much more effective in ultimately creating a healthy resolution for all concerned.
I’m sure I mentioned in one of my earlier posts (but if I haven’t here goes anyway)… how I am of the belief that what makes us who we are is the sum total of our experiences. We all carry both personal, familial and cultural emotional scars. Though these may not always be visible – Some merely have a teensy bit tucked away, surfacing only a bit on a bad day, while others have a whole pile of yuck easily seen by anyone within a mile, but what might be visible to others can be completely hidden to the one who wears it…due to denial or worse, ignorance. Often wounds manifest as anger, hatred, impotence, eating disorders and/or substance abuse. Ick!
The unwitting victims of this massive destructive societal dis-ease are both the perpetrators and those on the receiving end. This doesn’t excuse the abuse but it does say something about a society that allows trauma to continue.
As I said we’re living in a world that’s pretty messed up. We’ve got a pandemic. We’ve got war. We’ve got poverty. We’ve got homelessness. We’ve got hatred for the “other”. We’ve got pollution and environmental degradation. We’ve got a demented narcissistic dipshit running things into the ground. Combine these all with a whole fuck of a lot of greed by a very small group of people. We’ve got some work to do.
It’s time to start composting. We’ve got a mega garden to grow.
Tune in.
Janet Bernson 