leave things as they are
published: 2014-08-12I know a woman who picks at the blemishes on her skin. A mosquito bite, a pimple, a cut. She will turn them into painful little lesions. When the bleeding stops and they close to heal, she will scratch them open. She does so ritually, moving from one spot to the next in the same pattern every time, knowing exactly where to find them on her body. She is aware that she is doing so, but can’t stop herself. She also knows they will become scars, reminding her of what she shouldn’t have done.
It’s not those scars that should bother her though. It’s that she does the same in life. She knows where to find the sore spots and scratches them open. If ever they heal, the scars will be ugly. While they don’t have to be. If only she had learned to leave things as they are.