“My passion lies in the resiliency of the human spirit…where people have been touched by traumatic experiences and events, yet found strength when they thought they had none, unveiled their vulnerabilities by recapturing their voice, and unleashed their greatest power by accepting who they were in that moment of darkness. Walking out of the fire is just as important as how we walked through it.”
My journey began as a survivor of domestic violence during my childhood years and later from sexual assault as a child and adult. Assuming I had been through the worst possible acts of betrayal, abandonment, and loss, I then suffered two traumatic brain injuries (TBI) from severe car accidents within four short years of each other. Having no idea what a TBI was nor its exponential mental deficits, I discovered over time it caused incredible fatigue, triggering a mental gridlock of fog, panic attacks, nightmares, migraines, anxiety, PTSD, and feelings of out-of-control insanity. I was no longer me and didn’t like whom I had become, a depressed, tortured soul who couldn’t remember who she was, where she was, and why she wasn’t getting well. My traumatic brain injuries consumed me for eight long years as I slept my brain back to health while fighting the medical insurance companies and employers for my right to be treated with dignity and respect. You don’t know what you don’t know until you face the unknown, and I didn’t know a thing about a traumatic brain injury. A TBI is invisible, so who could tell I was injured? No one. I was ashamed to share my condition with others, because, really, no one cared or wanted to know about a TBI. They didn’t understand, and they didn’t want to understand what I was going through.
Even today, people struggle to find deep within them, compassion, to reach out to those suffering. Compassion is a character trait we all have and goes beyond altruism and empathy because it takes action by removing those who suffer from their painful environment due to trauma or abuse. By using compassion in therapy and treatment for those who have been through trauma or abuse, we offer a means of engagement to those who wish to be brought to safety, comfort, stability, hope, and a place of trust.
Let Your Light Shine On was a choice I made years ago to fight, not just for me and my recovery, but for everyone who choose not be victims to the system of trauma or abuse. I am here to give YOU the power, the confidence, and the light to move forward into the magic zone. For this is where you THRIVE! It is a choice each person must make on his/her own when ready to move forward. Through my support, encouragement, and resources, I hope to offer you a source of gentle guidance, self-confidence, and the self-knowledge that YOU are worthy of whatever you aspire to accomplish in life. Whatever you believe in your mind, you CAN make it a reality. You are the author of your life. Please allow me to share in your journey to make the broken pieces of glass shimmer once again.
There is a spark of God in us just waiting to shine it’s light through our soul’s broken pieces of glass to reach our greatest potential. There is so much more for us just within our grasp if we would let go of our comfort zone, Believe in our self-worth, love ourselves unconditionally, and have the faith to jump in with both feet! In truth, we really don’t control anything in life. It’s a cosmic fantasy…☄️God does not ask your permission when he turns your life upside down in the blink of an eye. Life is messy, chaotic, and filled with random traumatic experiences. Yet, in spite of this, we have the courage, power, and magic to make our lives fabulous with whatever cards we are dealt. It’s how we react to them that lets our light shine on! And, the magic zone is so much sweeter to glow into!! Love yourself, Live your spirit!
In Love and Light,
Kimberly Lees, Ed.D.
If you would like to participate in the Closed Face Book Group, Let Your Light Shine On, to share discussions regarding trauma and/or abuse, please click on the link and answer the entry questions for admission. I look forward to meeting you and having you as part of our special tribe…? Welcome.?