The Importance of Healing

 

We've all been hurt, every one of us.  By words or by actions, or lack thereof, we have all experienced suffering. Sometimes that hurt was caused by ourselves. It's inevitable that we will repeat this cycle again and again throughout our lives. Some wounds of course are more severe than others. In some cases, severe trauma - be it physical or emotional - stops us in our tracks or creates life-altering changes for us or those around us. Remembering such pain can hurt almost as bad as the original experience itself. In some cases, even though the physical pain is long past the emotional pain never really goes away.

As a response to pain, we often try to repress the emotions associated with it. We bury these feelings away and try to move on as if ignoring them would magically make them disappear. The reality is that these pains stay with us unless they are healed. Repressing them, forgetting about them or pretending to be better does not address the root cause and the wounds continue to fester, sometimes forever.

For physical pain, it is your body's distress signal and should always be considered worthy of investigation. Pain is your body's way of telling you to stop whatever it is that caused it, and as such it is important to discover the source and address it.

For emotional pain, too, it is our mind's way of telling us that we need to address some powerful emotions. Left alone, this pain will continue to return again and again. Likewise, it is important to understand the source and heal it properly.

Healing hurts. It takes time. It also requires both patience and courage to spend the time and energy needed to recover fully from injury. This means not aggravating a healing wound. It means taking enough rest to let the body/spirit really recover fully before engaging in the same activities again. Of course, physical therapy, like mental therapy, can help create a good recovery plan. For emotional pain, we need time before we are ready to face certain situations or relationships again and it is important to allow ourselves this time and not cut corners or rush the healing process.

In my case, I carried around the guilt, anger and hurt of being given away into state foster care as a toddler. I carried this pain for thirty years or so and it influenced every aspect of my life, damaging relationships and eroding my self-confidence. It was only through facing it, and facing my birth mother, that I actually began to heal. After so many years it was like the sunshine finally shone on my face again. In the end, she needed to heal, too.

It is not stoic or noble to endure physical and emotional pain. There is nothing "manly" about it. That which does not kill you does not always make you stronger, sometimes it just cripples you. Instead, it is far smarter to work actively on healing so that you can return to balance and find your own peace. It's out there, I promise.

Meanwhile, train as hard as you can.