Hurt People
The driver yelling and spewing hate flashing the middle finger as he races past you. How dare you cut him off!
The old lady in the grocery store, glaring at you for you have no idea.
The man calling his credit card company screaming and demanding action.
The young woman starting a fight with another girl over who knows what.
Gun violence.
Bar fights.
War.
You see and experience the world’s trauma everyday.
We are a society of the walking wounded.
People whose pain emanates off of them. Dead eyes. Angry eyes. Glaring eyes. Scwols. Frowns. Lifeless faces. Curses chanted under their breath or in their minds.
Yes, we are a society of walking wounded. Some wear their battle scars with pride and others with shame. Some carry them like heavy baggage they are unable to set down. Some drag them along like a bag full of trash, with no dump in sight.
How do we heal? How do we become a society that thrives?
If you are the walking wounded:
What you cannot do:
Place your pain on someone else. I get it. You are hurting and sometimes the pain is unbearable. You don't have to deal with it on your own but you don't get to give it others either. It is not okay to yell, belittle, or attack others with your pain. We do not like to experience pain and do our best to avoid it, but at some point you going to have to sit with the emotions and feelings. The infected festering pus filled open gash exposing your broken is not going to get better on it's own. It's time to tend to it, clean it out, stich is up and allow it be become scar tissue. A story, a history, a piece of you but not your definition.
What you can do to feel better:
- Talk to someone
- Start therapy
- Get a coach
- Get outside
- Exercise
- Change your diet
- Create art- paint, draw, sculpt, write...
- Allow yourself to feel
- Find a healthy way to express your emotions
If you see or know the walking wounded:
- Smile
- Wave
- Hug
- Talk
- Don't met them with the angst, anger and hatred they are spewing out like vomit. Don't throw this back onto them with your venom. Acknowledge it and move on.
- Don't take it personally. They are in excruciating pain invisible to the eye, some are dying inside.
- Like a withering flower, they need love and light, nurturance and patience.
We, you can heal wounds. They do not get to define you or become you. It starts with allowing yourself to see them. Tend to them. Treat them. Let them go. Create the life you dream. Your wounds are experiences that inform your growth.