"I bottled it up"

"Bottling things up" is as much a part of what I face in therapy as the chairs and desk in my office. It comes in many forms: avoiding, forgetting, suppressing, ignoring, hiding, deceiving, pretending, denial. The defenses of our mind against facing hurt, problems, imperfections, damage done, outing perpetrators or loved ones who hurt us, are powerful and often very resistant to change. Indeed, it is the road less traveled to see, understand and live with our real self, with both our joyous gifts and ugly warts and hurt, errors, harm done, mistakes, and/or, as some may say it, our "sins." The road to this truth is, without a doubt, laborious and inclusive of anguish. What isn't seen initially by the one who has yet to commit to this road less travelled, though, are the amazing gifts and rewards. To be real is to be free , to experience love, even in a world of conflict or hate. To be free is to really see Truth and live humbly, openly and without fear in its presence.