Here I begin walking Traumatic Event 2.
The Day I Fell
I resisted authority, I pushed it, I questioned it, and I tested the limits. For many years I fought against it and would not allow myself to give in - I would not for one moment allow the authority to know that what was happening was right, good, or in any way was what was best for me. I remember the day when I finally gave up, opened myself up for whatever may come, prepared myself to take it until it was over, and said, "I don't care anymore. Do what you're going to do to me and just get it over with." And once I stopped resisting and fighting, the hand that was used to exert authority stopped.
For 10 years I stood up for myself and in the moment when I allowed myself to literally take myself off my feet and sacrifice myself, it was over - there was a sense of both calm and wrongness - like, what was done in the past had to be done yet there was a sort of shame in relation to the realization that I finally broke.
From here, I presented myself as controlled by authority - I became the Good One and the one that does as expected. It's interesting - I had been told over the 10 years that I was a manipulator but did not actually become a skilled manipulator until after I fell. Within a few months to a year, I found a way to get rid of the authority where I would not be seen as anything but an Innocent, Curious, and Honest Person - I ran with it and the every day problem was removed.
This is where I learned that being honest, being outspoken, testing, and taking a stand for oneself is not safe. I learned, instead, that authority responds best to dishonesty, manipulation, and playing 'dirty pool'. I did not allow myself to let go of this memory so that I could use it to perfect my skills and show myself how to get what I want.
Up until I began writing this entry, I wondered where this behavior was rooted. It's been destructive and I experience a great amount of shame for what I have done. Now that I'm seeing it, I will continue with self-forgiveness in my next entry where I will be taking a closer look at how I reacted to Traumatic Event 2 and why, how I made myself feel in my mind and how I changed as a result.
Cool Carrie. Thanks for sharing!
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