Reverence For Old Injuries

Anyone who has had knee-replacement surgery knows that they need to be careful with their new parts. They know that this old injury can rear its head again easily. They wouldn’t set out to run a marathon without being mindful of what their leg has already been through. Even though they may be healed and they may be able to do most things - there is a reverence for this area of their body. A carefulness.

If we are wanting to create meaningful and lasting change, we need to know where our old injuries lie. We need to know what 'leg to favor.' Where to be careful with ourselves. Otherwise, we are prone to re-injuring ourselves.

When I was pulling myself out of debt, I got cocky and over-estimated my relationship with money. And with myself.

I thought I was totally healed up. And in a hurry to be better.

I quickly slipped back to semi-consciousness and fell into the same old habits. My wake-up call was a couple of bounced checks, a deposit that was never completed and a barrage of checking fees due to my negligence.

Money is an old injury of mine. And I need to continue to view this part of my life with respect instead of arrogance. With reverence instead of superiority.

When I am mindful of this, I favor that leg. I know that I’m prone to injury and to weakness there. I am careful with myself. Careful with my money. And I don’t over-estimate my relationship with it.

This doesn’t mean that I am justifying my behavior. The exact opposite. It means that I'm aware of my patterns and my habits and know where my strengths and weaknesses are.

Money might not be your 'old injury.' Yours might be food. Cigarettes. Vodka. Or ex-boyfriends.

The point here is to know ourselves. Know where our injuries lie. Don't overestimate our healing process. And know that that we may need to favor our injured legs. And that we might be prone to injury in this area for longer than we think.

When we respect our old injuries, we show love and care for ourselves and our future.

And with love and care.

Time and patience.

We can help ourselves heal.