“Sometimes it's the scars that remind you that you survived. Sometimes the scars tell you that you have healed.” - Ashley D. Wallis
To me, insecurities are just outward expressions of wounds. None of us are born worrying about appearances or comparing ourselves to others. But as we grow and start to realize our lives depend on the love and approval of those around us, we shift and start looking outward for approval.
We go to school and are tested and ranked. We begin to absorb all the nonsense about what is and isn’t pretty, who is and isn’t smart, and what we have to do to be popular, get into good schools, and be attractive to the opposite sex. We begin to think that our value is defined by how many friends, awards, and pieces of paper we have. Is it any wonder that we develop self-doubts, anxieties, drinking problems, anger management issues, and eating disorders? Is it any wonder that we lose touch with our centers and begin to see ourselves as "Creeps?”
So when Wolfie stepped onto the stage and sang,
“I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I'm not enough
Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up .” - Lauren Daigle
I immediately thought of the song Scar by Missy Higgins. The song celebrates scars both as signs of healing and reminders of the lessons they represent. Let’s have a listen:
So tell me about your scars.
How were they acquired?
How do you see and think of them?
Can you offer others who are struggling with wounds of their own some comfort, advice, or wisdom?
Let the conversation begin!
Jena
Copyright 2021 by Jena Ball. All Rights Reserved.
Gosh...so many scars...so little time to name them. I look at my photos of when I was in my teens and twenties and I was beautiful. I was. But! Here is the Sad weird thing...because I had a mother who constantly put me down and I was bullied ( I now realize people were jealous but when you are young and tender you don't know). So, One thing it taught me was looks do not matter. At all. Kindness and integrity matters. This stuck with me. Also, it made me fight for underdogs and against bullies. It also made me realize that people who bully are projecting their own insecurities like projectile vomit. Which is why I am able to forgive my mother who now has dementia for being brutal. She took her own talents and beauty for granted. And when I say beauty...I am not talking about physical beauty only because this is truly subjective. I love the song Joe Cocker sung You Are So Beautiful to me. It is a song we must sing to those we love and to ourselves. We all have the choice to be beautiful or ugly. To be broken down or mended with gold.
Jena! This newsletter is so good, the idea is so fruitful, it would also make a very, very good book!