Trauma is a deeply ingrained experience that can feel incredibly challenging to overcome. The scars it leaves behind often impact every aspect of our lives, creating a sense of hopelessness. Yet, within each of us lies an inherent power that offers hope: understanding our basic goodness. Recognizing this fundamental truth can be a light on the path to healing.
The Nature of Basic Goodness
Basic goodness refers to the inherent purity, wisdom, and compassion present within all beings. This concept suggests that beneath the layers of conditioning, confusion, and suffering, every individual possesses an innate, untainted quality that is fundamentally good and worthy.
In Buddhism, it is believed that all beings naturally possess goodness, which forms the foundation for healing. At its core, basic goodness is reflected in our universal longing for happiness – a longing that connects us all and serves as a reminder of our shared humanity. This longing allows us to empathize with others, as we recognize that all beings desire the same sense of peace and fulfillment.
However, how we respond to trauma varies significantly between humans and animals.
Lessons from Nature: Animals and Trauma
For most animals, trauma is a temporary experience. Their instinctual response allows them to energetically release it – often by shaking or briefly shutting down – before moving on. Animals don’t carry their traumas through life; they release them and remain focused on their basic needs.
Humans, however, experience trauma differently. While we have the capacity to use trauma as a tool for emotional and spiritual growth, unexamined trauma can entrench us in painful storylines. These narratives amplify our suffering and may lead us to believe, mistakenly, that there is something intrinsically wrong with us.
The Thief of Basic Goodness
When we internalize the belief that trauma defines us, we become entangled in negative storylines. These false narratives prevent us from integrating and healing from our experiences. Over time, we develop distorted perceptions of ourselves that can lead to significant mental health challenges or, at the very least, disruptions in daily life.
Trauma can feel insurmountable at times, with effects that linger and shape our worldview. However, by understanding that what happened to us is not our fault – and by reconnecting with our basic goodness – we can begin the journey toward healing. At our core, we remain fundamentally good, a truth that exists naturally within all sentient beings.
Connecting to Basic Goodness
Connecting to our basic goodness is unconditional, regardless of our actions, thoughts, or circumstances. This universal truth highlights that all beings have the potential for contentment and fulfillment. Reconnecting with this essence is central to healing the heart and finding peace.
By embracing our basic goodness, we can coexist with the traumatic events in our lives. Instead of allowing trauma to define us, we can use these experiences to deepen our connection to our inherent worth. This connection forms the foundation for healing, empowering us to move beyond the pain and suffering of the past.
As Mark Epstein, a renowned author and psychiatrist, eloquently puts it:
“Trauma is an indivisible part of human existence. It takes many forms but spares no one. Trauma is not a failure or a mistake. It is not something to be ashamed of, not a sign of weakness, and not a reflection of inner failing. It is simply a fact of life.”
Healing Is Possible
Healing from trauma is a journey that demands patience, self-compassion, and courage. But by understanding and embracing our basic goodness, we can find hope. We can see that our trauma does not define us and that we are, at our core, fundamentally good and worthy of love and compassion.
Basic goodness is a universal truth present in all sentient beings. It reminds us that beneath life’s challenges lies a pure, wise, and compassionate essence. By reconnecting with this essence, we open ourselves to healing and begin to live a life infused with love, compassion, and wisdom.
Engaging in individual therapy to reconnect with our basic goodness is a vital first step toward lasting healing.
