WOUNDS
My son was merely a few months old when he got his first minor wound. A well-meaning friend who eagerly volunteered to babysit was reading him a story when turning a page sliced his tiny finger open, causing it to bleed. Ouch! More for me than him. The good thing about getting hurt when you’re that young is you don’t remember a thing. My poor friend? It took her a little longer to recover.
THE PAIN
Wounds. Who wants ‘em? They’re painful. They scar. And every now and then, on a particularly bad day, they get infected, grow or spread to other parts of the body which, as we all know, requires immediate attention or they could leave us immobile.
THE PRECAUTIONS
No wonder so many of us avoid them at any cost. We stuff our cars, our lockers and our bathrooms with first aid kits. We pick up our sundries at the drugstore with a side of antibacterial spray. We board a boat or a plane with the requisite emergency stash of bandages, ointments, balms and whatever other supposed cure-alls. Ready for anything. Just in case.
AVOIDANCE?
We do whatever it takes to appease our worried minds that painful wounds are kept at bay. We keep a watchful eye over our children and loved ones and tell them to take care as they venture off without us. We assess situations and rate them between the range of safe to dangerous, generally opting for those closer to the former.
NEVERTHELESS
And still we bleed. We can never avoid wounds completely, I suppose. Accidents happen. We slip. We slide. We sink into carelessness and lose sight of risks as we plunge headlong toward something we love, or think we love, or could possibly love.
So we freefall. And in the process, we scrape our skin. We splinter our bones. We crush our spirits. We shred our hearts and feel the searing pain we incur just for living. For being and becoming. And maybe for heeding that audacious whisper of a passion whose voice won’t be silenced.
And we do it all over again. We’re funny that way. Because we’re human and it comes with the territory.
We hurt. And our wounds, no matter how deep-seated, deserve a chance to heal.
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Are there some wounds that do not heal?
When a wound doesn’t seem to be healing, should we examine how we’re treating it? How do we know when it’s time to take a closer look?
Do we as a society value safety too much? Too little? Not enough?
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Image by Dawson Designs
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Belinda, I’ve recently experienced big, painful gashes to my heart – the kind that no first aid kit can remedy – and I am in the process of healing now, but some wounds, especially those not easily seen with the naked eye, are harder to recover from no matter how hard I try. It’s interesting that you and I may be speaking in abstract here but these words mirror my soul. Safety, wounds, flaws, human nature – at once neatly and precariously tied in a bundle called life that we are destined to carry with us. And we try to balance them on our backs each and every day.
Hi Belinda,
Interesting topic. Seems to me, many of the messages of the World-Voice are notions of fear masquerading as truth, We must be willing to look at the folly of such deceptions. While we have to be real, we must stop worrying about what circumstances are doing to us, and start noticing what our mood and attitude are doing to our circumstances.
This post brought to mind how things were when I was a kid. We did so much then, things that are considered taboo today. I loved the ease of growing up daring and adventurous. I think to some extent, yes, we do protect ourselves from way too much these days. I survived my childhood as did many others. I think it’s possible to protect ourselves so much, we fail to live fully afraid of dangers that may or may not present themselves. (Hugs)Indigo
The wounds that take the longest to heal are the wounds to the soul. Sometimes we never heal. Great topic, Belinda !
Some wounds never heal. We carry them with and within us, but I believe that is what makes us appreciate the more joyous moments in our lives.
Hi Belinda, your post reminds me of the Helen Keller quote, “Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold.”
While some wounds may not completely heal, a well trained mind can help a person move forward in the wonder of life – even with their wounds. – and a life well lived is one worth living – too much safety can hinder life experience.
I’ve often questioned the often quoted adage, “that which doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger”, especially in terms of emotional damage. Hopefully time will provide the perspective needed to leave the wounds behind. If not, those wounds can fester, eating away at your soul.
i’d wager that yes, as a society we value personal safety (and comfort) over justice and truth and compassion. it’s no fun to bleed, but my greater fear is that i’ve already grown too calloused.
oh, to bleed with those that bleed, to mourn with those that mourn… thank you for this compassionate post friend. it really makes me think.
Your words led me to wonder… do people who try to avoid getting wounded actually hurt more? There are many people in my life who don’t do the avoidance, they plunge wholly into life. And they don’t seem to feel the pain of wounds. Is it that by being willing to hurt we don’t? Or is it that they have shut themselves off from feeling the pain?
Too much. I love the way my neighbor calls cuts/bruises “war badges”. I remember my daughter falling down, bleeding, and thinking she was dying. I know we are safety nuts at our house. I’m working on teaching her the value of symptoms – cleaning out…
Funny I was just thinking of an old (now healed wound) last night. I hid it away while it quietly bled for about 7 years. I pretended it was healed. Painfully, God brought it out into the light and then I began the work of showing Him my boo boo from every angle and letting Him take care of it.
hmm…such deep thoughts here! i do agree that our society has become much too concerned with safety. Not that safety is bad thing, but I think we cling to physical safety and smother our children, while at the same time allowing them to wade into very dangerous waters without much care or concern. i don’t want my children to suffer, but without wounds, sometimes stagnation occurs.