When I was in elementary school, there was another kid who was a friend of mine who had a curious habit. I noticed that he often had a number open scabs on his arms, hands, and legs. One day, my curiosity got the best of me and I asked him about the scabs. He was somewhat embarrassed to explain that every time he had an injury and it healed to the point of being a scar, he would dig at the old scars until it bled again. Thus, he would start the process all over again and wait until it was healed to pick it until it bled again.  He just couldn’t stop it.

I hadn’t thought about this for nearly three decades and had consciously forgotten all about this. Then I had been trying to solve a vexing emotional concern of my own over an extended period of time with little luck. One night I had a dream about my childhood friend who picked his scars, and realized that this applied to the particular emotional difficulty I was trying to resolve.

Sometimes we have already healed from particular emotional wounds, but notice the old scar and begin to pick at it until it bleeds. But once we realize it is already healed, we can begin to let those old scars be, because they have already been healed.

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