I have scars on a little over twenty percent of my body.

There is a large “C” shaped scar on my left knee. A close encounter with a Cadillac.

There a scar that runs along the left side of my waist. .38 that liked that particular chunk of meat.

There is a scar that runs the top of my right foot. A hatchet decided it was a good place to bury itself.

There is a round scar on my right shoulder blade. An arrow thought I was a target.

There is a scar that runs through my left eyebrow. Ha ha, that was a good time.

There is a scar on the inside of my right bicep. Woman burned me with her curling iron.

There is a scar under my right eye. Chinatown.

There is a scar on both sides of my right hand. Someone tried to mug me while I was drunk in Europe. Instead of slapping the knife away, I impaled my hand on it. The mugger was so startled he let go of the knife. I was so mad, I chased him down the street with it.

Those are only some of my scars, and no, I don’t look like Frankenstein. Most are more subtle. Discolorations of the skin. Patches that do not grow hair, like the side of  my legs. Most, you are not going to see unless you look for them.

I have a lot of scars.

And I am proud of them. They show me what I have done. How far I have come. What I have been through. Each one has a reason, and a story behind it. Each one, is a reminder, of my life. And I am proud of them.

The scars that you cannot see with your eyes, at least, not at first glance, are the other scars that many of us can carry. In many ways, the healing of a physical injury, is much the same as a mental, or emotional one. It takes time, rehabilitation, and an amount of acceptance.

Accepting that, that scar is there, is part of it. You can recognize it for what it is. An injury. And when it heals the best that it can, it is going to leave a scar. That part of you will never be the same. It will always be marked in some fashion, to show you, it sustained an injury of some sort.

Not all wounds heal correctly either. Accepting that, can be very difficult, but it must be done. I walk with a slight limp, because of an injury that did not heal right. When an injury does not heal right, it can be frustrating. Knowing that once, that part of you was healthy, and happy, can be a major disappointment, when the function of that part changes.

If you avoid dealing with the injury, the symptoms can get worse, spreading throughout the area without you even realizing it. The body will compensate for the injury, and the mind will do this also, when the injury is a mental, or emotional one.

You must accept the fact that you have been injured, before you can heal. Accepting the injury, and the scar it will leave, is the only way the process can move forward.

Metaphorically, you may walk with a slight limp from the injury, but that is alright, because avoiding it, accomplishes nothing.

Be proud of your scars. Enjoy what you do.