The difference between a scar and a wound is that a wound is not yet healed. It is still in the process of healing. A scar is a wound that has fully healed. What you have left is a visible reminder on your skin that you can tell a story about.

If you haven’t fully healed from a traumatic event, don’t share it. You have to wait until you have completely processed it and gotten over it. You still have more work to do.

If you have done the work and you have dealt with the hurt, and have moved beyond the trauma and are ready to move forward in your life, then you are ready to tell the story about your scar. How you were hurt. What you or others did that was not right. How you dealt with it. How you reacted to what cut you or broke you. How you overcame the pain. How you processed it. How you finally decided to stop thinking about it all the time and needed to move on in your life.

Then you have a story. Then you can pass on what you learned to your grandchildren so they learn from what you did right or what you did that could have been done better.

“Those that do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

“It’s not fair, but you have to get through it.”