WARNING: If you are squeamish or you are eating, don’t
read this, as it may gross you out.
The elementary school
nurse’s office and the First Aid kit is scary for most kids. In the second grade, I saw one of my
classmates fall off the monkey bars with a finger bent sideways protruding like
some alien claw. Another time, a
classmate was coughing up green stuff.
But when it came to scrapes and cuts, it wasn’t such a scary
place. In fact, the nurse told all of us
kids that we need not be afraid, because a clean wound was our friend, because it
meant it could heal.
In second grade, I had a friend who had a book of scabs. When she fell down, and her scab healed, she
would peel it off and glue it into a scrapbook.
To some, this is weird. To some,
this is sick. However, before you judge,
it will surprise you to understand the bigger picture of what this is.
One day, my friend saw the scrape on my knee from when I fell
off the monkey bars. I no longer had a Band-Aid on it. She begged to pull off my scab and put it in
her scrapbook, which was actually nicely organized. It had the date of the injury and the date of
healing. It was like a diary of
‘boo-boos.’
At first, I was not quite sure what to make of it. As I got older, I later came to understand
she was trying to give me a gift beyond sharing her scab book with me.
Both of us believed the nurse and all she told us about a
clean wound. We were not afraid to
confront the wound. When we both fell
down, we did not wince pouring rubbing alcohol in the wound. It was not that we sickly enjoyed letting it
sting like hell.
Maybe it was strange we
marveled at the hydrogen peroxide bubble, foaming up, sizzling like Alka
Seltzer, but it wasn’t because it looked cool or like some science experiment. It was something more.
Once clean, the wound would be healthy and be void of bacterial
that could cause infection. The pain it
would take to do the right thing would make us healthier in the end, no matter
how scary it was as a thought to pour something in the wound that would hurt.
There was none of this throwing a Band-Aid over it to not
look at it and confront it, rather it was just to keep it clean, but eventually
the bandage would need to be ripped off – and swiftly. Ahh… from here the wound can breathe.
Liberation waited to be claimed in this ‘freedom.’
In life, many people like to use bandages metaphorically to cover
something up they don’t want to look at, confront or face head-on. Perhaps the
bandage is a way to avoid acknowledging what is underneath, never to be
addressed. In the end, if things are not
addressed, then they are never fixed or healed.
My friend who kept the scab book kept her scabs like trophies
– they represented something more. The book itself was to manifest a sense of
resolve, completion in making a statement, an accomplishment. “I healed. Yes, I may fall again, but I WILL HEAL. I have physical proof of this, therefore I
must trust..” This was her
message. This is what she was trying to
say to me, by asking for my scab.
“Remember that time when you fell off the monkey bars on XYZ
date and you’re your knee healed? Look
at your knee now, you’re okay.”
I am sharing this nugget so that you can see that you will heal,
too. No matter how many times you fall
down in life, you will heal. You cannot
fail. You just heal and start anew.
You have everything you need to be okay and succeed. Maybe
you feel scared. It is human to feel
scared, but you don’t have to let it isolate or paralyze you from doing
something, because it is far scarier to attempt nothing and have no wounds,
stories to tell, moments to share, victories, triumph and yes, healing.
Your LINK to healing begins by acknowledging you have nothing
to fear because fear isn’t real.
Healing begins with reflection, introspection and above all
the ability to broaden your willingness to be open to a having a new
perspective on any situation you need to heal from. Once you take this on, you can exorcise the
negativity that may be holding you back from living your best life. Why have an oozing, puss-filled infection
underneath a bandage? Cleaning and
healing your deepest wounds will get you on the road to real healing.
While it is not comfortable, know that once you do this, you
will be healed and won’t have to go through that process of addressing it
again, if you do the work.
The ‘idea’ of putting a Band-Aid over a cut (granted we know
it’s smart so it keeps out the dirt) – is like putting a rug over a stain on
the wood floor. Covering something up
doesn’t make it go away. Life’s events
will happen whether or not you fall down and scrape your knee, and whether or
not you cover them up, so why not clean up what is there and heal?
All of your wounds and scars make you who you are, show you what
you can overcome and prove that you’re still here and you have lived through
your experiences. Declaring that you
have overcome obstacles can be empowering, life changing and provide hope for
others that they can get through challenges too and no one is truly alone.
This also leads to the pathway of self-acceptance and
ownership of what you are made of and help you see that you are stronger,
wiser, and more knowledgeable because of your experiences.
We get to become more honest with ourselves on what we need
to solve, resolve, or dissolve. This prevents
us from wasting unnecessary time on things that do not matter. Once we apply our time and dedicate it to
healing, we experience true freedom.
True freedom allows us to spread our wings. When we spread our wings, we can soar to discover
life on another level instead of spending time licking those wounds and staying
in a cocoon. Life is about blossoming
into new areas of growth and expansion to experience joy and ultimately, peace.
Digging deeper may not be easy and sure, it may sting a
little at first. However, that LINK to healing begins with being your own
Paleontologist, which you give yourself.
It is here, you are living in an expanded way, the way you were meant to
and have a happiness you never thought was possible.
So remember… when you get hurt, you will heal and that
healing can begin today. Love yourself
enough to know you are worth every second of your footwork you are doing to remove
the obstacles and infections of your past so you can overcome whatever is
holding you back from healing. Be aware
of your dimensions and appreciate your awareness factor in this moment that
healing is possible.
With each day, that scab is going to be ready to come off – and
it is waiting for you to let it go to say goodbye. It’s your choice to let it all go so you don’t
have to keep it with you forever. The
point is, it can be memorialized just like my second grade friend’s scab book,
there is the date that it happened and the date that you can say…”I healed.” Once you declare it, you are free. Won’t that be something wonderful to look
forward to?
Namaste.
