FIELD NOTES: On Quiet Trauma
Reflections from the margins of STATION DARK and PARLOR TRICKS
We often see it after the fact, in the painful stories and quiet suffering of those who have had to endure. In this week’s PARLOR TRICKS episode titled Quiet Company, we see just that. We also learn, if we’re listening closely enough, that Arthur Mercer himself remembers the sounds of a battle field. I can’t claim any personal exposure to this type of trauma despite my ten years of military service, but I hope I do justice to a topic that deserves more attention.
In this week’s SMOKE & MIRRORS, we see Arthur facing the trauma of combat in real time. We see decisions being made on impulse. Deals made in desperation. And in the end, we see a confrontation that compels Arthur to face the true issue at hand, which has little to do with the love of his life and everything to do with his own sense of guilt and desire for control.
I guess my point today, within the topics of current and past trauma, is that we never really know what someone is going through. We never know what events led them to the state they’re currently in. This isn’t an excuse for bad behavior, but it’s definitely a window for empathy to sneak in. For the care of fellow humans to surpass the desperate protection of oneself. For us, capable of so much love, to choose compassion over condemnation. This requires effort.
What I guess I’m saying, if I’m saying anything at all, is that this requires effort. Whatever this is… if it’s worth doing, it’ll require effort. Remember that the next time you choose the easy path. The path not chosen may contain the routes that make us greater than the sum of our parts.
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Check out this week’s PARLOR TRICKS stories here:
PARLOR TRICKS (free): Quiet Company
SMOKE & MIRRORS #8 (paid): The Hidden Turn
I just had a conversation about this with a friend the other day. I’m sorry, I referring your statement that we don’t always know what another is going through at any given time, even when we think we do. There are a couple of people I catch myself reminding of this now and then.
It’s one thing to let someone treat you so rudely it’s abusive. But if it’s not as serious as this and you can manage it, it would be nice to know we can each give each other a little more grace. After all, we don’t know what news they may have just received when they ended their last phone call.
Your writing is very nice and was a pleasure to read.