What is this scars and wounds thing?
I heard this quote a while ago. I’m not sure if this entirely accurate because my search for this yielded something similar: “Share from your scar, not your open wounds” by one Glennon Doyle.
And clearly he got it from a friend.
Still, it is good advice. When you act from within anger, or you write/share from a would, you are moving inside a realm that’s not your normal ‘habitat’. When you are in such a state, you are ill-tempered, prone to lash out to everyone near (even the ones you hold dear) and usually that is not the image you want others to have.
If there is anything you want to convey after a dramatic event, wait until the pain has gone. Pain clouds the mind and it will make you say things you are probably going to regret.
Writing from your scars
I am convinced this goes for writers. I have seen writing that clearly ‘erupted’ from someone’s mind in turmoil. Anger and fear seemed to bounce off the words and pages, making the whole work an uneasy read.
It’s better to wait. If you’re in such a bad head-state, take notes. Write up a draft of how you feel. Then put it aside and let the words, like your mind, cool down. Wait until the wounds have healed. The scars will come. They will be eternal reminders of the bad place you were in, but (if all goes well) they cover the real pain. They seal that and make the whole even bearable.
I’ve had my share of crap in life. Had I been writing back then, I would have produced quite some venom. I’m glad I didn’t. After hearing the quote above, I’m also determined to never do that.
I know, this isn’t a blog post that has much to do with naturism, but it’s something that I felt I had to write down anyway. Maybe it helps someone. Or at least it might make someone think.
Have a grand day, everyone, and stay safe.
Thanks, Paul! Great advice. Maybe it doesn’t relate to naturism directly, but it certainly relates to the body, to writing from the body. It’s a good distinction to carry into writing: scars (which are in fact a kind of trace or mark if not exactly writing) as opposed to open wounds.
Hi Will,
Thanks for your comment. This isn’t, indeed, directly related to naturism, but it’s quite broad. If someone had a bad experience, it’s good to reflect before “lashing out”. That can be naturism related too. 🙂
But it’s true, Paul. And it might be even the more true for people who are willing to show their scars when they’re naked. As people who speak and write about “naked pride”, do we not encourage people, as they get older, to continue to get naked even with their physical scars? I’ve seen women in naturist venues who live with mastectomy scars; I’ve seen a man hobbling into the pool with only the stump remaining of one leg. I’ve seen naked people in wheel chairs. N: Nude and Natural a few years ago published an article by a man who wore a “bladder bag”, having had bladder cancer: and to be naked with the bladder bag was an almost defiant reminder to the world that he was not a victim, but a survivor. In our writing out of a naturist consciousness, perhaps part of the vocation is simply to utter a summons to be bolder about the truth of who, of what we are: we get naked, not because our bodies are “beautiful”, but because we are comfortable showing the world that “I am what I am.”
Thank you for those powerful images, Allen!!
Yes, those are people who overcame the wounds and showed their pride.
thx. i forget that sometimes. do resignation letters count?
They do.
Vital advice to all readers, Paul. Distance is needed from wounds, especially when the wounding is the central author of one’s voice. An exception can only be made when one is portraying/narrating an act of wounding in a story. And that can only be done successfully from and by those who have been wounded and have healed.
So true, Robert…