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Oct 9
I have come to understand that the burdens I carry; my anxiety, the emotional wounds that have shaped me; are not entirely mine to bear. They stretch back through generations, woven into the very fabric of my being, long before I was even born. The struggles of my ancestors, their unresolved trauma, echo in my life in ways that are both intimate and profound, manifesting in my thoughts, my body, and even my heart.

The breakdown of my marriage, the unbearable stress that contributed to the loss of my left eye, and the need for brain surgery were not simply the product of my own failings or missteps. There is a deeper inheritance at play, one that transcends my personal history. My ancestors’ unresolved pain has rippled down through time, influencing how I navigate relationships, respond to stress, and even how my body has responded to the pressures around me.

The beauty of this understanding is that it does not absolve me of responsibility but offers clarity; a path to healing. I can look back with compassion, not only for myself but for the generations that came before me, who survived in ways they knew how, passing down their fears, their coping mechanisms, and their unspoken grief. In recognizing this legacy, I am called to break the cycle, to not pass this unresolved pain onto my daughter.

It is possible to heal, to release what is not truly mine, and in doing so, free myself and future generations. The memories of trauma that live in the body can be rewritten, the patterns of suffering interrupted. Healing does not mean erasing the past; it means transforming it, allowing me to finally breathe without the weight of centuries on my chest. It means standing in the present moment, aware of the lineage that shaped me but no longer bound by it.

This journey of healing requires more than awareness; it demands courage, presence, and the willingness to confront inherited pain. But through this process, I can cultivate resilience, transforming the energy of survival into one of creation and possibility. In learning to love myself, free from the ghosts of the past, I can offer my daughter the gift of a future unburdened by wounds that are not hers to carry. Through this work, I honor my ancestors by refusing to allow their suffering to define me or my legacy.



Beyond Labels —
We wear the names they give,
but beneath each title,
a story lives;
distinct, unspoken, unseen.
We are more than a diagnosis,
more than numbers or scales,
we are hearts stitched with hope,
souls searching for their own light.

The Winding Road —
Healing does not move in straight paths,
it curves and shifts,
sometimes pauses in silent moments.
It is shaped by hands that guide us,
by voices that hear,
by a world that often forgets
how to care beyond its walls.

Empathy’s Reach —
Not just for those they label;
empathy is a mirror for all,
reflecting our fragile selves,
our hidden fears,
the cracks in our armor.
In each heart,
a quiet ache waits to be held.

Redefining Normal –
What is normal, but a mask,
a word that confines
what it means to be alive?
We build new definitions
through love, through struggle,
through the shared understanding
that none of us walk alone.

— Sincerely, Boris
Inspired by “This Book Will Change Your Mind About Mental Health” by author Nathan Filer
Boris Cho
Written by
Boris Cho  41/M/Toronto, Ontario
(41/M/Toronto, Ontario)   
232
     Immortality, Jill, N and Nylee
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