Violence

 

Violence 

What is violence?   As a young person – probably into my teens, when I thought of violence it was always an act of physical violence.  Someone hit someone else.  It could be a slap a kick, a punch, or something far more egregious.   That was the extent of my understanding of violence.

 As I grew older, and possibly a bit wiser, I opened to the understanding of deeper forms of pain; different kinds of violence.  The pain of being scarred emotionally or psychologically can be far more challenging to heal.  Friends of a certain generation will remember the saying “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me.”  Most of us have come to know that our bones almost always heal, but the pain inflicted on our psyches lingers and lingers.   We can probably all think of instances when that type of pain was inflicted on us and conversely, when we may have inflicted that type of pain on someone else, sometimes in anger, sometimes out of malice, other times in ignorance.  Whatever the reason that scar remains with us.  Perhaps it really isn’t so very different from the lifelong limp from a broken leg or the ache in a broken bone when it rains.  All reminders of the pain we have endured. 

There can be great sorrow here.  There can also be great hope as we open our hearts to accept Spirit’s healing Love and, as we are healed we find that we are able to open our hearts to whoever perpetrated pain of any kind and harmed us.  When we are able to offer forgiveness to others, we find freedom within ourselves