To Wound or to Heal

How we interpret experience of the world is most often unconscious; in simplistic terms, our mind registers each interaction as either wounding or healing.  A person's viewpoint is determined by a complex interaction of physical, physiological, psychological,  interpersonal, environmental and circumstantial factors.

Instead of "To be or not to be," Shakespeare might rephrase the question today as "to wound or to heal."

Some fortunate people focus on the world as giving and healing. Tragically, others become caught up in the one-dimensional view of the wounding world.

Both Nancy Lanza and her son Adam who gunned down twenty children and six adults last December 14 in Newtown Connecticut , interpreted the world as a negative, dangerous place, requiring weapons to defend themselves. Sadly, they are not alone.

The trick in life is to find ways to transform wounding  experiences into healing ones. Sometimes the feat can seem as magical as spinning straw into gold, a task accomplished by the dwarf Rumpelstiltskin in the Brothers Grimm fairytale.

Dr. Temple Grandin, afflicted with autism, is an example of a person who transformed  a disability into an asset. Her bond and special gift to communicate with animals   led her to become one of the top scientists in the humane livestock handling industry.

Who succeeds and who fails to integrate the dual aspects of the world remains, to a large extent, as mysterious as the question of what creates our perspective in the first place.

Conclusion: The mystery remains but the goal is clear: to transform wounding experiences of any kind into healing ones for ourselves and for the world.

Dear Reader, I welcome your response, jsimon145@gmail.com