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Wounds to Blessings


By Linda Pestana


Wounds are not just the ‘cover it with a band-aid’ kind. Wounds can be verbally, psychologically, even emotion- ally inflicted. We can hurt someone deeply just by what comes out of our mouth. Oth- ers can hurt us this way as well.


The path of self-forgiveness is not without its roadblocks. As we become aware of the person we truly want to be, we will come across some people who don’t see things the way we do, and they won’t hesitate to tell us so. But this is not all bad; at least it won’t seem


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so when the bigger picture is clear. Every wrong carries some ‘rightness’ with it. For every terrible thing we have had happen to us, or has hap- pened because of us, a lesson was present. This life les- son paved the way for better understanding, more precise beneficial School of Life.


Take a minute to think about a time when you were hurt, or you did the hurting yourself. At the time the incident had its own set of consequences, di- lemmas, and problems. In retro-


Aug/Sept 2011


spect, what did you learn when you came away from the expe- rience? Did you find something out about yourself, or the other person(s) involved? Was your lesson immediate, or did it develop over time?


Dealing with a wound that has altered our perceptions takes a bit of finesse. No one ever wants to be hurt; yet we engage in wounding behaviors every day. A snide comment or a dirty look reverberates through both the attacker and the victim. We feel used,


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