The Initiation of the Wound

I didn't feel like I had truly "grown up" until I understood that life is painful, and I could handle it. In my naivete I believed that I was supposed to be happy and pain free, and as I struggled against the disappointment of the reality I lived, I became aware that I was creating for myself a life which was farther and farther from any kind of comfort I could and would enjoy. In other words, I was deepening my wound. I realized that from the time I was a child I had received wounds, and it is how I reacted to them that pretty much determined who I was.

I'm reading a book right now called, Iron John - A Book About Men. It is a fascinating read. It is helping me to understand the male psyche, which I believe is so much more complicated than the female. Just my humble FEMALE opinion, but if you read this book, I think you may agree. The author, Robert Bly, writes about how men are wounded most often by their fathers and how a wound must happen in order for a boy to be a man. But the wound received can be delivered in a positive deliberate way or in a negative passive way. What captured my attention was his statement in chapter two which says, "where a man's wound is, that is where his genius will be." He goes on to say that "wherever the wound appears....that is precisely the place for which we will give our major gift to the community." He gives several examples of men who did just that. I'm sure we can all think of several examples of men and women where this is true as well.

The exercise of this blog will focus on the genius or the "gift" of the wound to the community...sometimes from my ordinary life and sometimes from people whose community is a bit larger than mine. It is intended to encourage the growth of character, the enjoyment of life and expand our perspectives beyond the obvious.