Battle Scars
Every battle is different, as is each person’s experience of it.
Every battle leaves its scars.
Sometimes the scars are visible, other times they’re not.
The battle may be oppression, or harassment, or abuse.
A battle of love, or loss.
It may be about moving up or moving on.
It could be the battle of starting something new, or going out alone.
Or pushing through, of bottoming out and feeling that searing burn of coming back up for air.
Every battle leaves its scars.
The experience of the battles and the scars we wear say something about what we’ve been through, what we’ve done, what we’ve seen.
Sometimes we hide the scars, no matter if they’re visible to the naked eye.
Sometimes we wear them as a badge of honor. As a way of proving it, or just to say in quiet solidarity – ‘yes, me too’.
Once we have the scars, going out into battle for the second, third or fourth time out feels like it should be easier.
We’ve seen it, we know it, we’ve smelt it, we’ve tasted it. We know how it’ll play out and what we need to do.
But often it’s not easier. Not at all.
The scars can harden us, instill fear, make us shy away.
Even when they’ve healed, what we experienced in those past battles can take us to a place that may have once
The battles matter.
The scars matter.
But it’s important we acknowledge we may need more than to just let them heal.
We may need something more.
A new view, a new way, a new place, a new friend.
Different battles, different scars, same reasons.