by 
Am I the walking wounded or a pillar of strength? Yes. To Both. We all are. Because we are human, and we are living the human experience. We have encountered good and evil. We have been scarred inside and out. And the longer we live, the more scars we have. But remember that scar tissue is strong, very strong.
Think about the expression “Learning the hard way.” Isn’t that just learning to handle what life dishes up? There is rarely a “learning the easy way.” We learn by having experiences. With others. Who are flawed. Like us. We interact, we connect, we disconnect. Harder when we don’t want the same things. Harder when our goals are completely different, and when are visions are completely different. This is daily living with problems that may come and go, but mostly we learn to manage and bounce back from life’s disappointments.
But what about the big ones? The ones that knock us off our feet. The ones that are unjust and leave us screaming no or cowering in fear. The ones that leave the deep scars. The ones that leave us at the bottom of the pit that we think we will never get out of. Even if we learn to stand again, we feel like the walking wounded.
The miracle of life is that yes, you were in the pit, but yes, you got out. Because we can climb out of the pit, but it’s really, really hard. When you are pushed down, it is hard to get back up. The key is getting that hand off your back that is keeping your face to the ground. The key is to get your strength back and to start that slow climb up. You will need to alter your life to get that hand off you and get away from whatever is knocking out your soul.
You will still walk with your wounds, but you will also have gained strength from your journey back up. Commit to healing, and healing experiences and people will enter your life. Seek and embrace them.
I have a lot of scar tissue, but I have met some extraordinary people who helped me out of the pit (several pits actually). I acknowledge that sometimes I do still feel like the walking wounded, but most times I feel like a surviving pillar of strength. I focus on that. Strength.
