Landings - Introduction - Requiem for a Lost Girl

After it happened, her personality split apart. They say she became dissociative, which is actually a very typical and universal response to trauma. It is a way of separating our awareness from the unbearable pain trauma inflicts. It is a way to survive the unthinkable.

Dissociation is a form of flying – flying away from terror by fleeing present reality, while leaving behind a fractured self to maneuver through the everyday world. When an aspect of self takes flight, the earthbound components each play a unique role, handling situations unbeknownst to all other fragments of self. Dissociation, as a result of trauma, creates moth holes in the wooly fabric of life, gaps in memory, zigzags in the assumed linear march of events. Fragmentation manifests for the sake of preserving the fragility of the mind and heart. The flyaway mask is worn in times of trouble, when a perceived threat menaces. The self who flies away is a gentle soul whose mission in life is to carry heartache on her wings. Out of body she soars and floats about on a spirit wind, careful to avoid all dangers and potential disasters looming on a constantly metamorphosing horizon.