Living backwards means doing in adulthood what should have happened in childhood. You are learning to play after years of seriousness, to need after years of self-sufficiency, to trust after years of protection. Others watch you become more carefree as you age while they become more responsible. Your timeline is different because your wounds are different.
Living backwards means confusion about where you are, shame about not being further along, wondering why you are struggling with what others mastered young.
Embracing your timeline means accepting that your development was shaped by survival, that you are right where you need to be, that healing happens in reverse sometimes.
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Content informed by trauma research, polyvagal theory (Stephen Porges), somatic experiencing (Peter Levine), and nervous system regulation studies. For comprehensive citations and further reading, see Unfiltered Wisdom: The Book.
About the Author
Robert Greene is the author and founder of Unfiltered Wisdom, a US Navy veteran, and a trauma survivor with over 10 years of experience in nervous system regulation and somatic healing. He is certified in Yoga for Meditation from the Yogic School of Mystic Arts (Dharamsala, India, 2016) and affiliated with Holistic Veterans, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving veterans in Santa Cruz, California.