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DAVID BENTLEY'S WEEKLY COLUMN |
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PICKING AT SCABS
Scabs are gross. Even the dictionary definition of the word is disgusting. It says that scabs are the crustlike exudate covering healing wounds. "Exudate," in case you didn't know, is a substance that oozes forth. As repugnant as it may sound or appear, when our bodies get wounded, they automatically cause a slimy substance to ooze forth and cover the wound. Then this thick secretion hardens into the familiar crustlike covering we call a scab. As gross as they are, scabs are still pretty fascinating. A couple of weeks ago I tripped and fell. I've been watching the ensuing scabs with great interest. Some are thicker than others which, I assume, indicates the severity of the wounds being protected. The surfaces of the scabs are uneven and lumpy. Over the course of many days, they have receded from the edges like melting glaciers -- gradually getting smaller in size as the wounds underneath heal themselves. For some unknown reason, I have an almost urgent desire to pick at them. I did that as a child. It usually brought on renewed bleeding, more oozing, and a replacement scab. Still, the urge to pick persists. I don't know if I want the scab to go away faster, or if I'm just curious about what is going on underneath. Either way, it is really difficult to just let the scab and the body underneath do their job without interfering. Watching this natural healing process take place on the exterior surface of my body, I wonder if I have the same urge to pick at the protective covering of inner, emotional wounds in the same way. Picking at scabs, as enticing as the urge may be, only causes the healing process to be prolonged. If there is no infection to rout out or puss to be drained, our wounds will heal themselves miraculously over time.
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SAN JUAN ISLANDER © 2008 |
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