Be Grateful for the Scars
You survived...
The Art of Becoming is a newsletter about finding value in adversity and embracing discomfort. Each week, I share how I find fulfillment and a little joy and, in the process, become more resilient, wiser, and, hopefully, a better man.
I hope you join me.
Be grateful for your scars. They mean you’re alive. You survived.
You are stronger because of your suffering, and your scars are painted up and down your body and soul like tattoos prove it.
But your scars, your pain, past and current don’t define you. They show the person you become. As Khalil Gibran said, the most massive characters are seared with scars.
There are four ways we learn anything: time spent in school, the books we read, and the mentors who guide us, but the time we spend struggling to survive is when we find our truth.
You survived. Your scars show where you came from and what you are willing to do to overcome all obstacles, but your wounds don’t define you.
Our stories are written by the obstacles we climb over.
John McCain was shot down in Vietnam, tortured, and held prisoner for over six years. His pain did not become the dictionary that explained his life. He made his scars a badge of honor and proudly showed them when he became a congressman and senator.
Wrongly convicted of murder, John ‘Hurricane’ Carter served almost 20 years in prison. Carter became a motivational speaker and executive director of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted (AIDWYC) from 1993 until 2005.
Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head when she spoke publicly that girls in Pakistan and worldwide had the right to learn. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in December 2014 and became the youngest-ever Nobel laureate.
My daughter has had 20 surgeries in her life. Her body carries a scar from each one. Behind each scar is a story of her strength and resolve. And a lot of love. They don’t define her. They are but one chapter in her story.
Wear your scars proudly. They show the battles you fought, the obstacles you overcame, and the warrior inside of you.
You survived. And that’s all that matters.
One man scorned and covered with scars still strove with his last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable stars; and the world will be better for this. — Miguel de Cervantes
Thanks for reading. How have your scars helped you?
Love to you and yours,
Michael
Michael writes sagely about 'scar tissue'.
Physical scarring is often less elastic and flexible than the tissue it replaced. This also makes it stronger, more resilient and anti fragile, as well as more difficult to injure again. Psychological and emotional trauma is, of course, more nuanced. With reflection, guidance, insight and gratitude, it too can become a thing of magnificence.
When we are wounded, it allows the light to enter.