Tea with Shame

Script without images is at the bottom of the page! 

Comic script and image description:

[1] I invited my shame to have tea with me. She came in hesitantly, emerging from the shadows with her head bowed and fingers fidgeting. 

[2] Woman pours tea into Shame's cup "Some tea for you" "thank you..."

[3] Shame and woman both drink from their cups. Woman - "What would you like to tell me?"

[4] Shame - "I'm here to protect you."

[5] Woman - "What are you protecting me from?" Shame - "From being hurt. From being rejected."

[6] We've all experienced moments of difficulty, rejection, or criticism since our early days. As children, we're not equipped to recognize abuse and injustice inflicted on us, so we often internalize the insecurity and negativity and believe that we are the problem. 

First: a shadowy adult figure yells at a crying child "YOU'RE A BAD KID!!!" 

Second: a bully pulls his eyes into a slant and taunts a child "Ching chong!"

Third: a boy hears an adult woman tell her child "Don't play with kids like that."

[7] To make sense of the world and survive and feel loved, we build up a series of defence and survival mechanisms that might not always serve us as we get older and leave the spaces where those habits were needed. - Based on readings from choosingtherapy.com and The School of Life

[8] Shadow continues to speak "I built a shield from your ego and weapons of manipulation, people pleasing, and sharp words. I put on a cloak with a shiny exterior and a hypersensitive radar to detect any inkling of an attack against us. I made an arsenal of excuses so we could never be blamed." 

"It worked! Nobody could get to us. Nobody could hurt us."

[9] Woman "That's true but I think I've hurt a lot of people because of this. My ego and defensiveness get in the way of the deep and authentic relationships I truly want. I'm not sure I want to live that way anymore."

[10] Woman puts cup down - "What do you need from me to feel safe?"

[11] Shame - "Gentleness. Compassion. Understanding."

[12] Woman comes to kneel in front of Shame, and holds her hand.

[13] As I held her hand, I could see the true form of my shame appearing. I could sense the wounded inner child hiding within.

[14] Woman holds girl's hand and hugs her - "Thank you for being here. Thank you for protecting us all these years. You are enough. You are wonderful. I love you. I'm always here to listen to you."

[15] Little girl holds hand out with a toy -"This is for you."

It was a toy wolf that belonged to a childhood friend, which I'd lost in the snow. When spring came and the snow melted, it had miraculously reappeared.

[16] Little girl - "To remember me by." Woman, with tears in her eyes - "Thank you."

[17] Woman looks down at wolf, and when she looks back up she realizes that the little girl has disappeared.

[18] Woman - "...'Til next time."