The victim archetype shows up.
When we believe that life is just happening to us.
In other words,
There is an element of fate involved.
Circumstances,
Other people,
Or the past.
Have a power over one.
Determining how one feels.
Who one is.
And maybe even choices one makes.
In Zen,
There is a tale about a man walking down a road.
When another man insults him.
The first man becomes angry.
And over the day he carries the insult with him.
Turning it over in his mind.
Why did he see that?
How could he treat me like that?
What should I have said?
The second man continues walking.
And so the lesson here is When you keep carrying what someone else has given you,
You become the one carrying the burden.
So ask yourself now.
Where am I still carrying something that happened to me?
And this could be.
Anything.
At any time,
No matter how long ago.
Perhaps you were disappointed,
Perhaps you felt rejected or misunderstood.
Or treated unfairly.
Now notice what happens when you revisit that experience.
Does it show up anywhere?
In any way in the physical body.
Does your breathing change?
And where does the mind want to run to?
So letting go of judgments.
And being present with yourself in a kind and compassionate way,
Now ask,
Where am I giving my power to this?
And then?
What would it feel like to stop carrying this?
And remember that by putting something down doesn't mean that what happened suddenly becomes acceptable.
It means that one is then able to recognize the difference between what happened in the past and what you are choosing to do.
For yourself right now.
In its empowered state,
The victim simply refuses to make the wound.
His or her own identity.
So it's not about denying the wound.
It's simply not making it all of you.
So what is yours to choose in this moment?
Is it acceptance?
Is it letting go?
Perhaps a boundary.
Or perhaps moving forward.
With openness and trust.
And as you move through your day,
Know that just like the Zen traveler,
You always have the choice to put a burden down.
And that power.
That power of your choice.
Within you every moment.
It is here with you right now.
