Ranikai

“Most people who are in the process of excavating the reasons they do what they do are met at some point with resistance. “You’re blaming the past.” “Your past is not an excuse.” This is true. Your past is not an excuse. But it is an explanation—offering insight into the questions so many of us ask ourselves: Why do I behave the way I behave? Why do I feel the way I do? For me, there is no doubt that our strengths, vulnerabilities, and unique responses are an expression of what happened to us. Very often, “what happened” takes years to reveal itself. It takes courage to confront our actions, peel back the layers of trauma in our lives, and expose the raw truth of our past. But this is where healing begins.”
― Oprah Winfrey, What Happened To You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing

“I implore you to be more open minded, hermano. If we close ourselves off to the possibilities that lie outside of what tradition has dictated, we are destined for extinction.”
― Aiden Thomas, Cemetery Boys

“Was engaging with world issues a defense mechanism to trivialize personal pain, or was I doing it to be aware and responsible?”
― Ava Homa, Daughters of Smoke and Fire

“Our major finding is that your history of relational health—your connectedness to family, community, and culture—is more predictive of your mental health than your history of adversity (see Figure 8). This is similar to the findings of other researchers looking at the power of positive relationships on health. Connectedness has the power to counterbalance adversity.”
― Bruce D. Perry, What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing