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Our ability to heal should be a valued measure of success in our society. I’m not referencing the obvious physical healing. I want the healing that stops family curses of abuse, damage, and ignorance. The kind that makes you wonder if your loved one has a chemical imbalance or are they just walking around trying to survive their own cloud of PTSD brought on by childhood.
I want ceremonies honoring the people who are able to incinerate their own baggage and use the ashes to grow lessons for the generations to come. We need recognition for the people who fight the internal battles that we were blindsided with and never voluntarily enlisted. The people who decide to try their best to keep trauma away from the next generations deserve reverence.
What also deserves reverence are the tools, songs, people, and moments that assist us in our healing. The passing of Aretha Franklin brought up so much for me because her song, A Rose is Still a Rose, was a tool for my healing. What I realized in her death is that I had not fully healed around a tragic incident from almost two decades ago.
In my August podcast I shared exactly how the song helped me at the time it was originally released and my journey through my own struggles. I hope my podcast can help the wounded and those who hold space for the wounded.
The song was included in the original podcast but had to be removed because I changed the type of podcast I have on Anchor. Please enjoy “A Rose is Still a Rose” by Aretha Franklin after you listen to my podcast for greater context.