We do not have to live the rest of our lives trying to achieve some measure of success we thought was ideal when we were too young to understand who we even were. Our only responsibility is to make decisions for the person we have become.

Still, it is not unusual to want to wish our own stories away. To discard the painful ones, the humiliating ones, and preserve only triumphs and satisfaction. But liberation cannot be found by tearing holes into oneself.

Each time we meet and embrace a hidden part of ourselves— something that was rejected in childhood as unacceptable or bad—we create more inner unity. We become more alive by awakening from our numbness and self-rejection.