The 8 A’s of Healing: The First A: Awareness

Awareness is truly a gift, because without it, there is no catalyst to change. If we are unaware of a pain or a problem that exists, then we will not be aware of a solution, either. We could carry around pain and unforgiveness in our hearts for many years without being aware that it is there, all the while experiencing the fruit of it in our lives – broken relationships, negative thinking, frustration, etc.

There seems to be no formula or cause for a person to be gifted with a state of awareness other than the desperate desire to live differently. Some people grow into the comfort zone of their pain and never desire to move beyond it – becoming comfortable in the lack of emotional stability, the quickness to anger, the quickness to hold offense, the negative mindsets, etc.Those people grow roots in their pain and find it easier to continue walking it in rather than uprooting themselves to cause a life change. Some will never see their pain or wound as a need for healing – some will rather accept it, therefore miss out on the great opportunity to operate in the first A of Healing: Awareness.

Becoming Aware

How can you become aware of your wound and your pain in order to move to the next level of the healing process? Like I said before, there seems to be no formula or cause for a person to be gifted with a state of awareness other than the desperate desire to live differently. Do you desire to live differently than you are now? Are you desperate for it? For what reasons are you desperate to live differently?

I will give you a personal example:

I was in an abusive marriage for four years before I became desperate to live differently. Once I was experiencing that desperation, I realized it was because I desired deeply to be loved, cherished, appreciated, and provided for, which I was not receiving and hadn’t been receiving for the last eleven years of the relationship I had with that person.I became in a state of awareness of my pain, wounds, and the cause thereof simply born from that desperation to live differently. My reason for desiring to live differently was for my son as well: I desired him to experience being raised in a loving home because I hadn’t been gifted with such in my own childhood. Being aware of the issue, which was my abusive marriage, caused me to be aware of a problem/pain that was going on in my life that needed attention.

Reflective Questions 

What problem/pain do you have in your life right now that is causing your desperation to live differently? Think about this problem/pain and ask yourself more questions about it: When did this problem/pain begin? Why have I been so tolerant of this problem/pain until now? What kind of solution do I see as the answer to this problem/pain?

Write it down!

I am now currently AWARE of the problem/pain in my life of:

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On October 3rd, I will share with you the next A of Healing: Accountability. -Gavi, Your Advocate for Healthy Relationships