As we begin to put the pieces together, we find we make sense. Making sense to ourselves and having clarification about our nature, how it was formed and why we are the way we are, gives us the strength and the courage to explore and work through the pain. As we move through the pain, we can change beliefs that have long outlived their benefit. We can define and redefine and move into the present, free from the confusion and suffering that has long hindered our growth and happiness. With this new-found truth comes an assurance of hope and anticipation of life on the other side. This is self-discovery.
Through the discovery of self, we learn about patterns and behaviors that perhaps saved us in times of distress and pain. These behaviors may have been survival for us. However, as we move out of those situations and circumstances, we no longer need these adaptations. Yet they persist. We often recreate the same circumstances because it is familiar. It may be the only way we know how to relate, how to love, how to live.
Becoming aware of these patterns and behaviors, and their destruction, lends to gaining the knowledge to make changes. It is through an honest exploration that we can begin to change the present. We can shed the suffering of the shame and pain of the past and move into a new reality. We unload the burdens that lend to unwanted behavior and feelings that we want to shed. We reclaim ourselves. This self-reclamation is a discovery of self. Only then can we fully reclaim our lives.