WOUNDED HEALER

This is a concept that has always puzzled me. I hear the words wounded healer and I think, what does that really mean? Those words don't logically fit together in my brain. It's an oxymoron for me. Why would a healer be wounded? If they are a healer why aren't they themselves  healed? After all, a healer should be all-powerful.

Of course, we are all wounded on some level - physical, mental, spiritual - maybe all three at once. Or maybe they are all one. In western culture we are taught to hide our wounds. They are seen as a weakness. If known by others, our wounds could be used against us. This is our fear so we hide our wounds and thus hide ourselves.

What if the wounds are in fact a source of strength? Is that the secret of the wounded healer? One's wounds are a source of strength (when they are made conscious)! In my struggles I can develop compassion and humility. In the answers I have found (as I become conscious of my wounds and work to heal them), may lie solutions for the problems of others. Perceived weaknesses then become strength in the ultimate magic trick. The wounds of the wounded healer become a trusted assistant in the healing process. Instead of hiding our wounds maybe they can be celebrated instead.

There is another aspect of the wounded healer that I recently became personally acquainted with. One week ago I was the guest minister for the Sunday services at the local Unity Church with an afternoon workshop to follow. Leading up to the big day I had been sick with a near constant cough and stuffy head. This illness had been lingering 4 weeks. Certainly not the perfect setup for my speaking engagement or so I thought.

The speaking engagement and workshop went very well somehow. Lives were changed, I do believe! God came through and used me mightily that day. Miracles came through me despite my woundedness. Or maybe because of it.

 In retrospect, I wonder, was I more available to God in my weakened condition? Did my lack of physical vitality and strong voice that day cause me to surrender to the process more fully and allow for me to be more powerfully used as a conduit for spirit? If I and my ego had been stronger might my message have been weaker? I'm not sure and I believe the answer to these questions is yes.

One week ago I personally experienced how the wound of the wounded healer can be an asset rather than a block. This was previously less well known to me. Experience is a wonderful teacher. Clearly from weakness strength can be born. A counterintuitive notion which seems to be true.