My wounds are doorways to healing. When Christ returned from the shades, he returned with his wounds, for only the wounded healer is the true one.
Until I know my wounds, the shades enter freely: shades hungry and violent, who seek love through rage and insult. They enter, and I know them not, so I take them for myself. It is not I who live then, but this Legion, sowing wounds upon the earth through my body, speech, and mind.
When I know my wound, I guard the door. The shades now have to show their faces. Some I discover are as young as my father, as near to me as the hurt of my mother. Others predate the sun and moon, their names beyond human naming. And with each new shade I discover, I find one more thing I am not.
My wounds are two-way doorways. Through them I am both entered and enter. Christ descended the deepest wound—the grave—and returned with life eternal. Such are the gifts of the shadows to those who dare bring them to light.
Our deepest wounds are where we have loved most, or most needed to be loved. Wounds are mouthpieces of love, calling for love, and only love can sate their thirst.
May we hear the call and make the descent,
Simeon
“Blessed is the lion which becomes man when consumed by man; and cursed is the man whom the lion consumes, and the lion becomes man.”
—The Gospel of Thomas, 7
Suggested Reading
Care of the Soul by Thomas Moore
There is wisdom in our wounds if only we would listen. In Care of the Soul, Thomas Moore teaches that the places we break are the very places soul seeks to enter. A beautiful and powerful book that brings new ways of seeing and being with each chapter. A personal favourite. Order here to support SEEKER TO SEEKER at no extra cost.
In my podcast with Thomas Moore (author of the modern classic Care of the Soul), we speak about the pitfalls of spirituality, how to allow our psychological symptoms to guide us to healing, and what it means to cultivate soul as well as spirit in one’s life. It was a beautiful conversation, with a lasting impact on my life, and I hope it brings you something of value as well.