Meeting The Need

“Sometimes compassion needs to be offered again and again.”

When rumination or intrusive memories show up for me, I no longer see them as something to get rid of or fix. I’ve learned to treat them as signals; invitations to slow down and listen.

They’re usually pointing me toward a part of myself that got stuck in rejection or shame. A younger part that didn’t feel seen, chosen, or safe. Instead of pushing that part away or trying to think my way out of it, I turn toward her.

I validate what she went through. I offer empathy where there was once judgment. I let myself feel the sadness that was never fully felt. And then, gently, I offer forgiveness and acceptance… sometimes again and again.

The mind keeps replaying the story until the heart has had its turn to feel.

When that part feels met, the grip of the memories begins to soften. Not because I forced them away, but because the nervous system no longer needs to keep sounding the alarm in order to be heard.

For me, healing hasn’t been about erasing the past. It’s been about meeting the needs that went unmet, and bringing compassion to the places that learned to carry it alone.