It has been said ‘time heals all wounds’…I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.
~ Rose Kennedy ~
How many times throughout our lives have we heard this saying, “time heals all wounds”? I’m sure if I had a nickle for each, I would be a rich woman. Rose had it right…dead on. Wounds we thought were long forgotten – buried – have a way of rising to the surface at any given moment. Perhaps a song, a smell, or a place from our past can at once bring us to the joy of the moment we experienced and the overwhelming pain and sadness that we feel with the loss of it all. There is not a one of us who has not experienced some type of loss, and for the most part, we carry on in our daily lives, forging ahead as we have no choice but to do – for the alternative is unspeakable. Just when you think you are doing well, getting on with things, we can be snapped back into the reality of our pain as if no time had passed at all.
So, what do we do about it?
The most valuable of life’s lessons are learned in the classes that were the hardest to take. We try to belittle our sadness and pain by saying things like “there are people worse off”, and to some extent, that is always true. We cannot spend our days wallowing in the sadness and despair of others less fortunate, for if we did, I submit it would be hard for most of us to get out of bed each day, let alone function with some sense of normalcy. If you are sick, rest assured there is someone sicker; if you suffer heartbreak, you can bet there is someone out there suffering more deeply than you. Indulging in these thoughts, for a brief moment, can also be healing – lets us know that we are not alone and that from our own personal tragedies, we can rejoice in the healing that will eventually come for all of us.
Healing…
…it is a very personal and unique journey that each of us must travel. Making that journey – and reaching the final destination – is what defines us. What I have learned is that we must respect that journey in each other, even if we may not agree with it. That is the beauty of human beings – we all have our own way of dealing…of “healing”…and there is truly no right or wrong way. As with any road trip worth taking, the most important thing you can have along the way is the love and support of those closest to you. It is for those that have no one that I feel the most pain and sadness for.
Sometimes in the journey of healing, we find what we were seeking all along in the comfort of helping someone who is less fortunate than we are.
I still believe in humankind…and I believe that before our journey ends, we will all find a way to heal ourselves and each other.
