I have a small scar on my hand from an incident which occurred at school when I was 11 years old.

The scar does not hurt me at all, but it is a reminder of the time that my hand was caught in the buckle of my friends coat – an insignificant incident, which I remember because of the mark which it has left on my skin.

More troublesome are the mental scars, which continue to call on my inner voice for attention and healing – these I think of as Echoes of my Mind.

These Echoes of my Mind trouble me because their presence remind me of a past way of being, which I would prefer to forget, and every now and then, unlike the scar on my hand, they cause me intense pain.

I am learning, through my development to welcome their presence, they are a valid part of what makes me the man that I am today, and to lose sight of my journey, would devalue my ability to be present.

My challenge to self is to welcome the pain, feel it, embrace it, reassure it and simply be with it while the moments pass and the Echoes of My Mind return again to an undulating ripple, or pulse, which support me onward on my journey in life.

My next blog will be: Christmas Dread

William Defoe