Know Thyself Heal Thyself Weekly Prompts

Surviving Our Wounds

KTHT Writing Prompts October 17–22

The famous anthropologist Margaret Mead believed the first evidence of human civilization was not tools or things like clay pots. She believed the remains of a human body in an archeological site with a healed femur did. The bone connects the hip to the knee. Her argument being since it was a weight bearing bone, the person had to be cared for by others until it healed. The person would not have been able to care for themselves or protect themselves, so would have died before it healed.

I have given this concept a great deal of thought the last few months. A fused bone means you survived the break. A scar also is evidence you survived a physical wound, whether that wound was from surgery or an accident. I personally have a large and very distinct surgical scar on my abdomen as well as several minor scars on my body. There was a significant change that surgical incision would not become a scar but I survived the ordeal and the scar became a reminder of that. I have come to believe that scars are often indicators of physical, mental, and emotional wounds. Scars show you were strong enough and had enough support from others to overcome your situation.

Many of us have scars from wounds which were not life threatening. It means the wounds were treated and cared for. Even a minor wound can become infected and lead to a more serious and even life-threatening situation if ignored. Minor scars from minor and properly cared for wounds can fade over time. Some disappear completely though while remembering from telling stories or writing this article you know where they were and might look for them. They tell part of the story of us. A person with more scars found themselves in more dangerous situations which they may or may not have had control over. Each of them, however, tells a story of survival.

Mental, emotional, and spiritual wounds do the same. There is a scar left behind if we have survived them. If they are treated carefully when they happen, the wound is less severe and the scar minor. If untreated, they can fester and become much more serious. The problem with these types of wounds is we don’t always know at the time they are happening. The longer they take before treatment, the more damage has been caused, like with a physical wound. A bone that breaks might heal on its own but cause not heal properly without medical intervention. That might cause problems later on.

Unlike physical wounds, where we can usually see them to treat them right away, these other kind of wounds wait until we feel the pain from them to start working on healing them. The sooner we do like with physical wounds the more likely we are to minimize the damage and keep the scar smaller. These types of wounds are more likely hidden or ignored, however. These non-physical scars need treatment in order to make the scar as minor as possible. These wounds and become serious and even life-threatening, just like a physical wound. They will probably manifest in risky or destructive life choices and conduct. Surviving wounds to get these kinds of scars also indicates you were strong enough and had enough support to overcome the situation.

Any wound can leave a permanent scar. That scar might cause us pain from time to time, even though it is as healed as it can be. Sometimes we get further medical treatment for physical scars. It follows that non-physical scars might need more treatment from time to time as they cause more pain. We need to think about them as evidence of our survival. This means you had strength, care, and support. Being a survivor is something we should be proud of. It means we get to tell the narrative of the situation rather than someone else. It means we can learn lessons from the situation. It means we can grow and become a better person. Scars do not mean we were not damaged. Let’s face it, all of us are damaged goods so how we choose to present that to the world is our choice are the damage has happened. We can show it as a weakness or a strength. We can see it as a flaw or chose to present it as a beautiful Japanese kintsugi masterpiece. Kintsugi is a Japanese technique to repair broken pottery using gold and other things. A piece that is stronger and beautiful in its own way but different that the piece was before it was broken.

I have uncovered an emotional scar that I believe will always be a part of me. The scar had been treated already after some years and given the care it deserved. It will need further treatment and maybe it will never completely heal. I can, however, use it to make myself a kintsugi piece or leave it as an ugly scar. Because I am a survivor, I have this choice. Choices are powerful things. Rewriting an experience from victim to survivor is also powerful. Survivors have courage and strength and they have more stories to create and share.

This week’s prompts come with thoughts on wounds becoming scars. This week’s prompts:

1. Talk about a situation where you rewrote your story from being a victim to being a survivor. Speak about the tipping point and how you felt stronger because of doing that.

2. Talk about a broken memento or item you had and turned it into a beautiful new treasure, adding to its original value to you.

3. The scaring process needs care and support. Talk about a situation where you assisted someone in your life to go from a wounded victim to a survivor. Talk about how you both gained from doing that.

I have been away for a while and dealing with some issues and this scar. I appreciate all the thoughts and support sent my way. I am working on my kintsugi piece and look forward to seeing what is created. That is all I have for this week. Remember there is no time limit and the choice of how you do this is yours.

Peace be with you