by Sandie Coombs
Introduction
Many years have passed since I originally wrote ‘Time may Heal but Scars Remain’ following a transformational meditation during the Ovate grade.
The many gateways journeyed through, as I progressed through the Bardic and Ovate course gave me strength, understanding, healing and acceptance. These were the foundation stones which led to the transformational meditation which literally freed me from the scars I had tried so hard to hide, to bury, but that kept emerging in many different forms.
As I worked through each set of Gwersi, I began to tune in more and more with the turning of each season, connecting with deities, the elements, the realms within land, sea and sky. My inner grove a beacon in the darkness; a place of safety, of healing, of learning deep within the forest. Somewhere, I could go to, and meet and talk to my grove guardian, my spirit guides,
The Earth, the moon, the stars, the cosmos, began to feel part of me and I was part of it!
Each hug of a tree gently worked its healing and magic. Leaves beneath my feet brushed away, not in huge heaps, small but simple little mounds, each one healing a subconscious scar or injury.
My abused, angry, violent inner self was being transformed, moulded into something different. Something, which I didn’t fully understand at the time, but that loved this warmth building inside me. Family and friends began to notice a ‘new me’ emerging from the chaotic scrap heap of my life. I began to love and feel loved once more.
I was being healed from the mental and physical abuse, the fear, the internal damaging fire of hate and anger which demanded constant feeding. I no longer hid the scars on my outer body. I learned to love and cherish them. They are my companions, a reminder of which eventually led to finding the Druid pathway.
As I connected with the streams, rivers and oceans, I could feel the cleansing of negative emotions being gently washed away. I discovered joy in helping, caring for, and connecting with, the many creatures which live upon the shores and within the ocean.
My place to ‘take care’ of, is a picnic area within a small wooded ravine and small cove near to where I live. Clearing and loving this space by embracing the trees, picking up litter left behind by others or blown in by the wind also gave me a sense of purpose. Abuse leaves you feeling worthless; doing this helped to counteract that feeling.
I learned to accept ‘yes’. I do still bear the scars on my outer body, and the hospitals are still doing their best to keep me mobile; but inside Druidry works its magic, healing me, loving me, and I am still loving it in return.
Stone by stone my outer protective castle walls had been slowly dismantled and I had found my way home due to OBOD, its teachings, its leaves, branches and deep-rooted wisdom.
~ Sandie Coombs
16th July 2022
Time May Heal Wounds, Scars Remain
Time may heal the wounds but the scars remain It is how you treat those scars which really matters. Do you cover them with clothes, make-up, tattoos ?
Do you hide them at the bottom of a bottle or at the end of a hypodermic needle ? You may even try to disguise them with a smile that does not reach your eyes. Those scars, those wounds, always revealing always reminding, should you expose them for all to see? Or, hide them among the other skeletons in the cupboard? You know the ones I am talking about. Those skeletons which you think are forever hidden – tucked safely away… Which you personally tucked safely away until that is …Somebody, something maybe quite innocently, or even at times to be malicious and cruel opens that cupboard door, disturbing them once again. Then, and only then they come back to life, like a horror film which you cannot wait to end.
Those scars are slashed open once again cut along the same line left bleeding and festering once more. There is no Nurse in the cupboard to stitch the wounds. All that is left is an empty space A black hole who’s vortex can suck you in faster than you can blink.
However, you can chose another way. Expose those scars for all to see, understand, and help them heal.
As much as you try to hide it from yourself and others They are you, a map of your Journey, your life. They, are what has brought you to the here and now. They, are your companions, your guides.
Look at them, learn from them, embrace them.
Each one tells a different story, a moment in time, listen to what they say. How you progress along the path now is your own freewill, but do not damage or harm others along the way. Think about it… do you really want others to bear your scars as well as their own?
Maybe, just maybe, you would prefer the love and support of others helping you take those fresh steps along that path to see that glorious sunset and embrace the beautiful new sunrise?
Listen, can you hear the birds heralding a new dawn? Hear the insects, the minuet creatures taking life from place to place. Feel the Rain Wind and Sun…
Taste the air, not just once but countless times, remember subconsciously how it changes. Hear the voice of a spring as it finds its way through the earth to the surface. How it bubbles and chuckles as it reaches the air winding its way in and out of grass earth and stone forming the capillaries of a stream travelling to the river, the ocean.
Absorb each individual blessing, and smile. This is life. And, You, yes You, with the Scars are part of it.
Wake up and smell the coffee people say. Should they say instead wake up and smell life, this wonderful aroma that surrounds us? Even through the fumes of the towns and cities the scent of life is there if you chose to look for it…
Search for the scent of each individual person, tree, flower, grass animal and mineral. The smell of the Oceans, the aroma of the Earth, the musky beautiful smell left lingering after a lovers embrace. It is all there to be found once again.
Love your scars! They are your visible healings, your strength, the warrior within. Do you really want to hide them like a mushroom that has been encouraged to grow in the dark then left to fester and smell like a ulcerous wound which is always open never healing?
Time may heal, but the scars remain. It is how you chose to treat those scars that really matter.
Sandra-Ann Coombs ~ 2 July 2010 ©
