In Brian Martin's book Invincible, he quotes Renee McDonald's point of how "There are many more children in battered women's shelters than women." When I read these words, my heart sank. What a disgusting, alarming point this makes. When we think and hear about domestic violence, most of us think about adult victims. It escapes our attention that children can be part of this equation, and in fact there are more children than adults being negatively impacted by this controlling abuse in battered women's shelters. Martin goes on to discuss how children are not just a "witness" to domestic violence because that word has an implication of passivity and we now know that children are directly impacted from growing up in a home with childhood domestic violence occurring. These children need help, they need a voice and they need someone to hear them and to let them know it is not their fault. If we as a society want to stop domestic violence we need to be focusing on prevention. We need to educate our children and our communities on what domestic violence is and allow children to share their experiences. The childhood domestic violence association created a Change a Life program. Anyone can visit their website found here https://cdv.org/tools-and-resources/the-change-a-life-program/ and become "The One" in a child's life to help them to deal with and over come childhood domestic violence. This is a great resource for all of us, anyone who comes into contact with a child can help that child through conversations and this evidence based program can give you the words, direction and confidence to help. It just takes a few minutes to complete and it's free! 
Take care everyone, I hope you feel encouraged to help where you can.
Have a great week and thanks for reading...

Hello Everyone,
I love that Tony Robbins points out that those who grew up in childhood domestic violence (CDV) paid a price but also received a gift for the cost. In Brian Martin's book Invincible, Robbins attests to the fact that those raised in childhood domestic violence (CDV) are victorious and have vast inner strength. The things that those who grew up in CDV faced left them with compassion, courage and strength. If you were raised in CDV, please educate yourself on its' effects and lies you may continue to believe about yourself and your place in the world. Take care everyone, and check out Martin's book for more information. 
Thanks for reading and have a great week! 

Hello Everyone, 
The Childhood Domestic Violence Association is taking and making great strides in addressing the issue of childhood domestic violence or CDV. CDV occurs in a child's home where there is domestic violence going on. If you were raised in a home where there was domestic violence, then it is important to be mindful that you may suffer some consequences because of that environment as an adult. The Childhood Domestic Violence Association has stated that awareness and understanding can begin to address some of the related issue surrounding CDV. Sharing our experiences and educating ourselves on the ramifications of growing up in a home that had domestic violence is important in preventing and addressing it. Check out our next week's blog that lists some potential adverse affects of growing up in a home with CDV. 
Take care everyone and thanks for reading, please share this information so we can all do our part in overcoming CDV. 

Hello Everyone, 
Rumi said to be like a tree and to let the dead leaves drop. This is a sad but necessary part of life and part of growing. We are like trees, we get excited when new leaves start to bloom in our lives. This represents new life, new growth and may even represent warmth and sunshine. Most of us get excited when the leaves turn colors and we then experience a different beauty, it reminds us to be appreciative of the trees and what they bring to our lives. However, the mess that follows is typically unattractive, it makes a giant mess and it takes work to clean it up. If we apply this to our lives, I think that we will find that sometimes it is necessary to be like a tree and know when to let things in our lives go. Rumi pointed out that the leaves that fall are dead leaves, they are no longer alive. In our lives, at times, different things do help to bring life to us and yet we are not like the trees. We hang on and this can be for several reasons. Sometimes we hang on out of obligation, or guilt or shame and sometimes we hang on because we don't want to be vulnerable just like the tree with no leaves. I hope that there comes a point in all of our lives, when we would rather be vulnerable and want new life more than whatever has driven us to keep holding on to something that is dead. 
Take care everyone, I trust that you will begin to let go of what is holding you back, so that you can move forward in your life have a great week and thanks for reading.