Brene Brown, a story teller and researcher, often posts photos from a site called Notes On The Way.  The owner is a poet who often creates images of her own poems in moving settings, but on occasion she pulls quotes from people and writes them to share.  Brene Brown is a person she often borrows from.  But the other day, this one came up.  And it spoke to me.

The story behind it is simple.  It was a question her therapist asked her one day.  She says: “this is a question my therapist asks me all the time that has really made a huge difference in how I process my emotions and experiences. Am I choosing to follow my past hurt around like it’s all there is, or will I move forward believing instead I am lovable and courageous and free?”

It spoke to me.  Hell, it spoke to a lot of people.  When I quoted it to a friend one day, she stopped in her tracks.  “How fucking profound” was her reaction.

Understatement.

Since reading this, I have used it to gauge my actions – my response.  Am I responding because that’s what my spirit says or because I’m wounded? Am I wanting to do it because of the wound or because of it being who I am?

It leads to some interesting internal questions as to what is motivating me.

I always want it to be my spirit, but sometimes it is because my spirit is wounded.  And, well, when my spirit is wounded, it does not make the best decisions.