Sunday, January 8, 2012

Cutting Through

I've never been a cutter...ever.  However, I have immense empathy for those that do.  My first exposure to it was in college.  A sweet guy from Newcastle, we shared a bed, just held each other all night.  I thought how incredible he was he never pushed his sexual agenda.  Next morning he showed me his scars.  I was 20 and I completely flipped out and dashed down to my friend's room.

This was foreign to me, this was new, this was terrifying.  I suspect my instincts were solid, although I handled it badly.  He was a sweet man who felt comfortable enough to share his most secret history.  I abandoned him, I ran, without stopping to think and ask "why?"  Yes, I was a kid, I was inexperienced and I was selfish.  Today, it would be a very different situation.  I have been through so much trauma, I would now sit up and listen to the sweet gentle giant from Newcastle.  Not suggesting there was a relationship in the wings, but certainly a dialogue.  I let that man down.  He reached out, I pushed back so hard he fell over the precipice.

Something similar happened last night.  I reached out.  I bared my 'scars' and instead was met with compassion beyond compare. Complete stranger's as well as trusted friends and intimate loves, the latter two I was beginning to shut out from simple fear, reached out.  The crowd gathered around me and circled me like a comforting quit.

I have never been a cutter, but I understand those that do.  Numbness needs a razor blade.  We cut when on our own, I choose not to be on my own anymore.

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