Leveraging Empathy for the Past to Make a Difference in the Future

One of the components of putting SalvageU together was to transfer my old blog posts from my Wordpress website here. It started as nothing more than a menial task, but it ended up being much more.

I began writing Wordpress posts in 2013 for a blog I branded “A Stone’s Throw,” referencing a moment when I realized the emotional tailspin I found myself in was more than just a “funk.”(If you read my memoir, “Collapsed,” you’ll know what I mean.) I used the blog as a way to pin down a thought or a feeling that I couldn’t understand at the moment.

So as I pulled these postings from the old website to the new, I also consumed the words that had sat raw on those pages for years. As I ate them, I could taste the bitterness. I coughed up tears as I read some of the things I had penned many years ago.

Why such emotion? Some might assume the writings were triggers to the trauma. But that’s not the case. I became so emotional because I felt terrible for the guy who had written those posts. I knew how much he was hurting. Here was a guy wholly frustrated and emotionally numb with no answer, no rosy outlook, and little hope. I wanted to embrace him and whisper into his ear that there is light at the end of the tunnel, that life can return to full speed, and that he can have loving relationships that bloom instead of wilt. I wanted to comfort him so badly.

As I finished, I felt more sure than ever that creating SalvageU will make an impact. I can provide hope, empathy, wisdom of experience, and perspective to others who might struggle post-trauma. I can comfort that guy I was by helping others who are where he was. And I can’t think of a more noble aspiration.