SuperHappyFu-
nKitty

SCARS

Markings in dry clay disappear

Only when the clay is soft again.

Scars upon the self disappear

Only when one becomes soft within.

Throughout our life, but especially during our youth, many scars are

inflicted upon us. Some of them are the results of violence, abuse,

enjoy, or warfare. Others arise from bad education. A few come from

humiliation and failure. Others are caused by our own misadventures.

Unless we recover from these injuries, the scars mar us forever.

Clbumical scriptures urge us to withdraw from our own lusts and

sins. But scars that

have happened through no fault of our own may also bar us from spiritual

success.

Unfortunately, it is often easier to give up a bad habit than to recover

from the

incisions of others’ violence. The only way is through self-cultivation.

Doctors and

priests can only do so much. The true course of healing is up to us

alone. To do this, we must acquire many methods, travel widely, struggle

to overcome our personal phobias, and perhaps most importantly of all,

try to acquire as few new problems as possible. Unless we do, each one

of them will bar us from true communion with Tao.