Have you ever noticed how the shadows of the past can drown out the gifts? Have you ever wanted to really enjoy the gifts and not been able to?
Have you ever felt that you have a bit of a juggling act going on?
Then brother and sister, you are not alone. Being Irish is not a simple thing.
The struggles of our parents and grandparents left their mark on them, and on us. Our heritage, our identity is rich and vibrant. But it can also be painful. The drive to survive, literally to stay alive forced many of our people into desperate acts. Some of them were never able to make peace with the past. They locked it up in a vault, marked secret. They would not/could not speak of what they had experienced. Many adopted strategies to keep things under wraps which weren't always healthy.
This makes for many the uneasy family gathering. If you are Irish, you have probably attended at least one. I certainly have! There was the "talk/don't talk" rule. (Did you have this one?) "Be friendly and polite to everyone but don't talk about Auntie Mary in the mental hospital or the fact that your brother lost his job."
I don't advocate a 'bear your soul to the world' life strategy. But I am deeply aware today of the cost many of my clients have paid for keeping painful secrets. Some literally feel strangled by the family secrets. But even on a very simple level, if we are using lots of energy to avoid a part of our reality then how much is there left for us to enjoy life?
If these thoughts resonate with you, join us for Your Irish Identity, Gifts and Shadows Webtalk
Explore Your Irish Identity here
Have you ever felt that you have a bit of a juggling act going on?
Then brother and sister, you are not alone. Being Irish is not a simple thing.
The struggles of our parents and grandparents left their mark on them, and on us. Our heritage, our identity is rich and vibrant. But it can also be painful. The drive to survive, literally to stay alive forced many of our people into desperate acts. Some of them were never able to make peace with the past. They locked it up in a vault, marked secret. They would not/could not speak of what they had experienced. Many adopted strategies to keep things under wraps which weren't always healthy.
This makes for many the uneasy family gathering. If you are Irish, you have probably attended at least one. I certainly have! There was the "talk/don't talk" rule. (Did you have this one?) "Be friendly and polite to everyone but don't talk about Auntie Mary in the mental hospital or the fact that your brother lost his job."
I don't advocate a 'bear your soul to the world' life strategy. But I am deeply aware today of the cost many of my clients have paid for keeping painful secrets. Some literally feel strangled by the family secrets. But even on a very simple level, if we are using lots of energy to avoid a part of our reality then how much is there left for us to enjoy life?
If these thoughts resonate with you, join us for Your Irish Identity, Gifts and Shadows Webtalk
Explore Your Irish Identity here
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