Embracing Time Helps Heal Emotional Wounds
If we were able to let time into our lives when it asks. If we had the courage and let him accompany us in difficult situations, in mourning, in losses, in joys and even when we feel alone… Time is a traveling companion and not an enemy, as we often imagine. Because when we’re lost, he saves us, when we give him space and days, he does his job and helps us heal emotional wounds.
Sometimes we lose fellow travelers, our dreams are interrupted or we find ourselves walking in a hurry, alone on the road, and we don’t hear our emotions. However, if we can stop, listen to our emotions, and let time act, we will find the path we need to alleviate suffering and pain and heal emotional wounds.
the island of feelings
“Once upon a time there was a very beautiful island of indescribable nature, where all the feelings and values of man lived: good humor, sadness, wisdom… as well as all the others, including love. One day, they were told that the island was about to sink, and so everyone prepared their ships and left. Only love was waiting alone, patiently, until the last moment.
When the island was sinking, love decided to ask for help. Wealth went through love in a very luxurious boat and love said, “Wealth … can you take me with you?” “Sorry I can’t because I have a lot of gold and silver in my boat and there’s no place for you.”
So love decided to ask for help for the pride that was passing in a magnificent boat. “Pride, can you take me with you?” “I can’t take him…” – replied the pride. “Everything here is perfect and you could ruin my boat. What would my reputation look like?”
Then love said to the oncoming sadness, “Sadness, take me with you.” “No love…” – answered the sadness. “I’m so sad I need to be alone.” Close behind was the good mood that passed in front of him, but he was so happy he didn’t realize he was being called.
Suddenly, a voice said, “Come love, I’ll take you with me.” Love looked to see who was talking to him and saw an old man, but he felt so happy and joyful that he forgot to ask his name. When he reached the mainland, the old man left. Then love realized how much it owed him and asked for wisdom, “Wisdom, can you tell me who this old man is who helped me?”
“He’s the only one able to make love survive when the pain of loss makes him believe it’s impossible to move on. He’s the only one able to give you another chance when it looks like it’s all over. Love, what saved him is time, because only he is able to understand how important love is in people’s lives”.
This story by Jorge Bucay shows us the importance of time. When we believe that everything is lost, when we lose our way and our path no longer makes sense, when we strive for everything to be resolved quickly and ignore what we really want, time comes and saves us. He tells us in the ear that everything passes and that when we learn to release the load and embrace time, we can heal the emotional wounds.
It takes time to heal emotional wounds
Haste has never been a good ally, problems take time, just like love. All the energy we used to direct towards each other needs to find a new destination. Lost dreams also need time because the brain needs to come up with new plans or new solutions, and lost dreams need time because we need to learn to direct our love elsewhere…
Time takes care of putting every thought, every emotion and every person in their place. He teaches us that nothing is definitive, that everything passes, both good and bad, and that slowly everything gets better. This helps us to mature and see things from another perspective to learn and move forward.
That’s the solution: take a break. But not a passive time marked by the ticking of the clock, but an active one, formed by acts and reflection where calm prevails to elaborate new plans and reflection to learn from the good, but also from the bad. A time to let ourselves go, without stopping walking, so that, as in the story, save us when everything else cannot help us.
