Scars and Storms

About six weeks ago, my kittens broke a small glass tray. I gathered all of the glass I could, and then I used my vacuum cleaner to pick up the smaller shards of glass. A few weeks later, I was sitting on the floor, addressing an envelope. I got up from the floor, and put in a movie I wanted to watch. I then noticed a strange sensation; I looked down to find that I was bleeding profusely from my right leg. My leg had made contact with an errant shard of glass, still buried in the carpet, from when the kittens had broken the small glass tray. As a result, I was left with a three inch gash below my right knee. The cut was jagged and quite deep. I washed the wound with soap and water. I covered the wound in ointment, gauze and surgical tape. Three weeks later, the wound has healed. A scar has formed.

I awoke last night to the sound of booming thunder, followed seconds later by blinding lightening. The thunder frightened me; it was terribly loud and seemed to shake the whole house. I then heard the meow of one of the kittens. She was on the ledge above my bed, absolutely terrified. I called out to her; she meowed again. I could tell that she was scared. She needed reassurance, to know that everything would be alright. I called her name, she meowed back. I reached up and began to pet her. She began to purr. I assured her that she would be fine. We would all be fine. Morning came, the storm passed. All was right with the world.

It is an interesting evolution, the process of healing. If we know the storm is coming, we make preparations for it. However, many times we have no warning. Accidents happen. People get hurt. The storm takes us by surprise. We have no time to prepare. We are left searching for answers, devastated by what has happened.

I have a few friends that are mending their own wounds, emotional scars, straining to recover from the of the devastating events  in their lives, to pick up the pieces from their storms. To those friends:

The storm you are currently experiencing will pass. You are already working in the process of healing. You must help yourself. Your survival is up to you. You survived the injury. You survived the storm. You are here. You survived.

Wear your scars proudly. Tell your tale of survival. When you see another who is going through a storm, has suffered a terrible hurt, throw them a life preserver. Be there for others as they were there for you.

 

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