THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS HAS EXPIRED ON MOST OF OUR CHILDHOOD TRAUMA

#SMED 11

In his book, “Too Soon old, Too late Smart, the author Dr Gordon Livingston, provides the reader with 30 essential truths. One of the 30 essential truths relates to “The statute of limitations has expired on most of our childhood traumas. No matter your past, change is the essence of life. In order to move forward in life we need to learn to live in the present.” (advancedlifeskills.com,)

We’d like to believe in the famous story/movie ending, “and they all lived happily ever after” . Unfortunately life is much more complicated than the make-believe world of Disney cartoons and movies. Whilst children eagerly watch embrace the afore-mentioned cartoons and movies, many of them are often scarred for life due to traumas suffered during childhood, i.e being raped by a family member, poverty, ill-treatment and/or abuse by parents.

There are numerous social problems which beset young children and often it sets the tone for the manner in which they will deal with life during adolescence and adulthood.

To assist the young ones to deal with these traumas, life orientation plays a pivitol role in school education. If not addressed, children, when entering the world of adulthood, willl feel trapped, lost and ill-equipped to face the challenges of adulthood.

The author on the other hands provides valuable advice. He encourages us to let go of the past– and uses the analogy of the statute of limitation to bring across his point. In this regard the statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system which sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on the event may be initiated. One of the reasons for the statute of limitations is that people want to get on with their lives and not have legal battles from their past come up unexpectantly.

In order for us to move forward, and lead our best life, we need to find the courage to break free from those traumas of the past.

In conclusion, “It’s up to each of us to get very still and say, “This is who I am. No one else defines your life. Only you do.” – (The Best of Oprah’s ‘What I know for sure).