Our Wounds and the Diamond Within
My friend,
I have been thinking these last few months about our wounds. The more I see, the more I am moved, and the more compassionate and understanding I become of every person’s journey and difficulties. When I look at each person in this world, I see someone who most likely has been wounded, who has had pain, who carries scars from living, fighting and surviving.
And I’ve been asking myself: who is not wounded?
Who hasn’t experienced the pain of a heartbreak? Who has not cried over the loss of a loved one? Who has not felt the betrayal of someone they trusted? Who hasn’t been excited, then suddenly disappointed? Who didn’t grow up with illusions of living happily ever after, then sooner or later face the reality of life?
Who hasn’t been stolen from, hit, or made fun of? Who has not been marginalized by those who felt stronger through violence? Who didn’t choose to build a wall to protect a seemingly fragile heart after so many hits? Who has not been depressed at one point or another, risking all hope to continue living, or losing trust in humanity as a whole?
Who has not cried saying goodbye to someone they loved, because they knew it was for the better? Who has not lost a father, a friend, a son or a daughter? Who has not made mistakes so big they feel life can never be the same? Who has not bet all they had on a dream that didn’t come true?
Who in this world has not been touched by some calamity? How many of us have experienced an injustice, especially from people we thought were our friends? Who hasn’t had trouble, at one point or another, only to wake up trying to find a reason to live that goes beyond just making a living? Who hasn’t tried hard to love themselves, failing again and again? Who hasn’t been rejected, denied, shut out or shunned?
Who in this world can say they have not cried over the loss of their innocence? Who hasn’t wished, at one moment, to live again in ignorance, as if not knowing could make things better? Who hasn’t prayed for a solution to problems we don’t understand?
Tell me: who has not been wounded? Who has not cried, or been angry about their situation? How are we to judge, then, those we believe are wrong? Who are we to say who is mistaken and who is right, when we may have made more mistakes than most?
If anything, every time we look at someone’s face, we could see both what they want to show and what is really within: their history and their heart. And when we talk to each other, we could talk to the real one, and not who they appear to be, so we can be honest and humble together. The more we do this, the more we may heal each wound, each confusion, each misunderstanding with the realness of love, compassion, and the understanding that we all want to be loved, understood and cared for.
If we all reach out our hand to another, we would one day know another’s pain as our own, and our own as another’s. Then we would not feel as wounded, because we would realize we wanted what everyone wants, and that what we sought could not have been given by those who have been as blind as us. How could we judge them?
Let’s share with one another, talk with one another, and understand one another, to heal the hearts that have desperately asked to be cured of apathy, indifference and denial, only to discover these were just cover-ups for our tears, anger and fear. Let’s not be scared of the light; let’s get closer to it, so it can melt all that is not, and reveal what truly is: our Self, our diamond within. It is a jewel we have protected, believing it could be hurt, when it was invincible in its kindness and love.
Go on, then, my friend, with this strength that was always yours. Touch all who want to be real but don’t know how. Touch them gently, talk to them with honesty and care, and be a shoulder for their pain and a friend for their tears. And if no one says thank you, know, in your soul, that you did good, and that that was enough.