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This image really speaks to me.
Is this image beautiful?
Yes, but also shocking.
It speaks of a need for change in the world, change in the way we treat one another.
For more about the inspiration behind the image and to see more of Zahira Kelly's intense, beautiful, meaningful artwork, follow this link.
~Cie~
2 comments:
I think this is sad in so many ways. I come a lifetime of abuse, none that I put myself into, none that I chose. In fact, it is because of that that I chose a different path. There is a different path, always. It isn't the message that others give you that matters, but the one that you seek to listen to. It is there. I had no one, yet I knew I wanted more. I listened to Me. The abuse that I survived was deep and horrific. It shaped me, but it does not define me. I define me. Peace. And hugs.
A very powerful image and, I think, a very necessary one.
I think different people respond differently to abuse according to their psychological makeup and the type of abuse. Sexual abuse by a relative is probably the most corrupting and damaging to the soul. One learns to feel dirty from a young age.
What I experienced was probably comparatively mild, but it did set me up for a lifetime of mistrust and failed attempts at relationships. It went on between the ages of 13 and 18. The perpetrator was an older second cousin who was 25 when it started. Initially, there was no penetrative sex. He fondled me. I thought I was in love with him and thought we were going to run away and be together. Things got worse and he got more demanding as time went on. When I was 18 and went to college, it ended.
I was a mess. I drank a lot and smoked a lot of pot. Somehow I managed to keep up with my school work. I was an unremarkable student who became an unremarkable worker. I have always tried to make myself invisible.
I don't much care for sex, so I don't think I have missed out on anything in that regard. What I sometimes feel I missed out on was the kind of supportive companionship which is what I love about the stories Team Netherworld writes together. I think such a thing is possible, but I don't think it was meant for me in this lifetime. Mostly I'm okay with that. I don't know if I'm asexual by nature or if not liking sex happened as a result of what my cousin did to me. Probably the second choice. I don't really care to fix it at this point.
I don't think there is any right or wrong way to feel about abuse. Perhaps a person who is more psychologically stable by nature will be able to adapt and pick themselves up better. I did go through a period where I self-harmed and made half-hearted suicide attempts. I haven't done so in a long time. I go through life with varying degrees of mild to moderate depression. I think it's just how I am, although I also think that perhaps if I hadn't endured this early abuse, I might have found something to soften the more intense periods. I honestly don't know.
I think a lot of people are walking around with terrible secrets eating at their souls. This idea tends to be the basis for many of the things I write.
Sally
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