Restorative justice helps heal emotional wounds

Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D. writes about her fascinating experience as a Harvard trained brain scientist who suffered a stoke in My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journal.

I was fortunate to read Dr. Taylor’s book during a recent 6 hour train ride from New York City to Rochester.

Dr. Taylor insightfully discusses how she healed both physically and emotionally, and says:

Emotional healing was a tediously slow process but well worth the effort. As my left brain became stronger, it seemed natural for me to want to “blame” other people or external events for my feelings or circumstances. But realistically, I knew that no one had the power to make me feel anything, except for me and my brain. Nothing external to me had the power to take away my peace of heart and mind. That was completely up to me. I may not be in total control of what happens in my life, but I certainly am in charge of how I choose to perceive my experience. p. 127

Restorative justice offers us an opportunity to find meaning in painful and harmful experiences. Restorative justice never condones bad behavior, but gives us some hope that we can make our lives more resilient and our hearts stronger and braver, by facing our pain.

We don’t have to personally meet with people who have hurt us either. We can apply a restorative response on our own just like Dr. Taylor did with herself and find some emotional healing.

For more check out her website: http://drjilltaylor.com/index.html