Fifteen ~ I'm Fine

If we aren't willing to recognize that we are hurt, then we are more likely to keep going in life until we fall down and pass out.  There are signs that a person is in pain, they wince, they bleed, and they shake.  There are signs that a person has been emotionally hurt, they get depressed, enter unhealthy relationships, and engage in self-destructive behavior.  Emotional hurts can only be bandaged if the person is beg enough to admit "Yes, I hurt."

Not letting others close is a sign that we are hurting.  When a person has a broken hand, they won't let anyone hold their hand because it hurts.  If we avoid close friendships or relationships, we need to know its time to recognize that we are hurt and we need to bandage the wound so we can move on.

Seeing that we are hurt and that we are carrying around the hurt is the first step to healing.  Understanding that what we do or say is because we are afraid of being hurt again, we can challenge those ugly feelings inside.

1.  Do you find that you pull away from relationships, suffer from depression, self-destructive behaviour, putting up a front - being scared to be or show the real you?  If the answer is yes, then you are bleeding from an old wound.   It's time to turn the hurtful situation into a springboard for growth and positive change. 
2.  "How can I use the difficulty or hurt I've suffered to help me become a better person?"  "What can I learn or how can I grow from the situation?"

This bleeding is something we can't run and hide from.  Refusing to recognize our wounds is like sitting in a dark room and thinking there is a boogie monster there with us.  We tend to do really weird, uncomfortable or dangerous things to avoid something that hurt in the past but right now it is not real.  The past is gone.  We need to turn on the light, look at what we fear and see that it's no longer there, its just a shadow, there is nothing to worry about.

This exercise will free us from the bonds of destruction we have tied ourselves into.  WE are able to live lives of close relationships, trust, love, forgiveness and happiness.  Once we have that recognition we can take positive steps towards freeing ourselves from that pain.  If we can take every past hurtful experience and turn it into an opportunity to become a better person then we may even get to a point where we can look at that painful time in our lives and say "That was the point in my life where everything changed and now I'm a much better person because of it."

Warren, S. 2010, 7 Ancient Keys To Happiness, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform