This ad spoke to me. On the surface, it would seem to be a good thing to get rid of something that mars an otherwise smooth surface, but like Botox it can sometimes ruin the tracing of every day lived, leaving behind a permanent look of surprise.
Like many of you I survived the Great Lockdown and emerged through the other side with vaccinations complete. Then we were hit with one of those legendary blizzards. With three feet of snow blocking all three doors. We were going nowhere. Thank God none of my family were damaged by the virus nor the snowstorm.
During the lockdown though, my sister passed away. It wasn't due to Covid. Her health went on a downward spiral that none of her family nor her doctors could stop. Losing family or friends, however it happens, leaves a scar. It is like the place where you held the love for that person is marked forever. You never get over it. You just get through it. Sometimes in the middle of the night you think of your lost loved ones and it is as if the grief has never been dealt with. But it has. Little by little the scar fades. You never are free of it, but it loses its power to bring you to your knees.
Then there are the spiritual scars we all collect along the way. We fail at something. We are measured and found wanting. We are unable to live up to our own expectations of how we want to form our lives. These things leave scars. It took me a long time to accept that I would never be perfect in all I attempted. I consoled myself by remembering that even if I didn't reach my goal, I was a lot farther than if I had never tried. That is a victory.
II don't remember where I read it, but a phrase keeps whirling through my mind. At the end of your life you should be covered in scars both physical and spiritual to prove that you had lived. To prove that you fought. Sometimes you lost and sometimes you won, but you fought. I like to think of my scars as badges of courage or at least perseverance.
I will not try to eliminate any of my scars. I can tell you a story about each one of them. I want to hear the story about yours too. We connect on this universal level if not on any other. I intend to live gratefully and collect even more scars. They have changed me permanently. They are a roadmap of my life.