# Are You a Survivor?

by: Jennifer Hoffman

I have a friend who is a recovered alcoholic and in every conversation she mentions how long she has been free of her addiction to alcohol. While I share in her joy of having overcome this issue, I wonder when she will stop seeing herself as a survivor and start defining herself in other ways. And if the memory of her addiction is so close to her, has she overcome it or does she live in fear that it will arise again and take control of her life? Is there life beyond surviving and how do we move from surviving into a new and different life path?

Anyone who survives some sort of trauma that affects them on a deep level knows that their life is defined as things that happened before and after the trauma occurred. These are life defining moments and they can become our focus because of their intensity. People who have survived serious accidents, illness or traumatic experiences are forever changed by them. They see themselves as survivors but in doing so they also label themselves in a way that makes the trauma the center of their life and keeps them in the energy of the past. What have they become since the trauma and what else became possible because of it?


We can identify with the survivor role considering what we have experienced in this lifetime, especially as we have been processing so many energy shifts and changes, done so much healing work and cleared lifetimes of karma. This has not been an easy journey and has been traumatic. But our survivor perspective carries an added burden because as survivors, we are acknowledging the toll the battle has taken on us. We are not survivors of the shift or the energy changes, we are willing and necessary participants in a paradigm shift that is changing the world.


For future generations, we will be known as the heroes of these times, those who sacrificed, prayed, stayed constant and overcame our most difficult experiences. They will not see us as survivors because they will not understand how difficult it has been-and to be a survivor you have to live the experience. But they will benefit from the legacy we have created for them. And as we are moving into our mastery, we need to be careful with the energy we are creating with our words. Labeling ourselves as 'survivors' keeps us in the energy of what we have overcome. We are heroes, those who have overcome, who have worked hard and completed what we have set out to do. It is our time to shine, to create new paths for ourselves and new paradigms for humanity. We can survive the past or we can overcome and thrive in the present and create a wonderful future.

Source: www.urielheals.com