We all get wounded one way or another at times, many times, throughout life.
It is the nature of our human experience that we will come across struggle, injury and trauma from time to time. Sometimes, these wounds leave lasting physical, psychological and emotional imprints of this traumatic event in the form of scars.
These can be visible or invisible, depending on the event and how we were wounded.
We can often have a strange relationship with scars in our western culture, often seeing them as unsightly or as a visible or emotional reminder of something unpleasant from our past.
But this is not how I believe we should frame them, and it’s certainly not how many other cultures view scars either.
For instance, in many sub-Saharan African cultures, scarification is considered a sacred act. It’s purposefully done to mark a right of passage into adulthood, for wedding ceremonies, for fertility rituals and other important life events.
In other cultures, scars have been seen as badges of honour and valour, of bravery and the courage to overcome adversity.
But I see scars as a roadmap of our journey through life.
Each scar is beautiful in itself, each scar has a story attached to it, and always one which has brought us to who we are right now.
They are the page markers on the chapters of our own story!
Each cut, wound and marked tissue is an important part of who we are, and they each should be given the love, compassion and respect they deserve.
Those scars that we so often see as unsightly should instead be viewed as illustrations on the pages of who we are. Telling a story in visual form, without words.
Even the scars we can’t see - the ones we have gathered over the years through loss, trauma, grief and emotional pain - all should be held with compassion and respect. Because the fact that you’re still here able to look upon them means you survived the event that caused them, and THAT is something to be immensely proud of!
Our travels through the human experience are never easy and it’s inevitable that we will be injured by the experience from time to time.
But it’s precisely these injuries, wounds and scars which lead us on to who we become.
So love your scars. Allow your loved ones to kiss your wounds, or kiss them yourself, as those scars mark the pages of your journey so far, and yes it’s been quite a journey, but there are still many chapters left to write.
For more musings, why not join the group Beneath The Canopy?