I Dream Awake

The fact is, traumatic experiences are part of maturation. Extreme traumatic experiences are part of the common human experience. They were once something leaders were expected to have endured and grown from, if they were going to be leaders worthy of respect. It is only in the very recent past that humans in comfortable First World societies, have managed to put trauma at arm’s length, and for political purposes, stigmatize it. Trauma is not limited to war. It happens in cities and suburban neighborhoods. It happens on highways and in hospitals. It happens in homes. It happens in the halls of power.Traumatic experiences teach you things about yourself and about others. They teach you how to make hard decisions in unforgiving situations. They both reveal character and offer quick, dirty instruction in the matter. They reveal who you can rely on and who you can’t. They teach you what is important in life. So many lessons, most of them merciless, though so often teaching the value of life and of mercy. While traumatic experiences may leave you feeling alienated in a world that rejects old warriors as detritous, and mocks their experience, traumatic experiences do not separate you from life. They make you that much more a part of it.

Jules Crittenden » Post-Traumatic Presidency

Very well put.