A Friend's Tumor Surgery Turned Into a Reminder to Love Every Scar
Appreciating the beauty of all your body's scars and scratches
A friend's five-hour surgery to remove a chestnut-sized tumor from a knot of nerves left him with a scar from ear to neck — and a daily reminder of how lucky he is to be alive. The piece celebrates the gashes, scabs, birthmarks, blurry tattoos, and surgery lines that make up a personal history, arguing that being a bit bent and busted is what makes us who we are.
Your bumps and scratches are part of your life and part of your story. They're part of your lows… and part of your glories.
- dehrmann
This is very wabi-sabi.
- NichoPaolucci
I'm hoping that one day I end up looking like a junkyard cat. I don't know why, but I think it's pretty cool when someone is pretty banged up.
I'm not a very careful guy, so my hands are all torn up, burns on my arms / legs, old gashes... Each one's got a story but at some point they start to get hard to remember. I've still got two eyeballs, both ears, and all my digits though.
Maybe it's that Hunter S. Thompson quote; “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'Wow! What a Ride!'"
- jjice
Even outside of the human body, appreciating things that have aged, served a purpose, and have been repaired so they can still accomplish that goal is a beautiful thing.
Kintsugi and wabi sabi are probably the most convenient terms to capture this.
I find nothing more satisfying of clothing that I've personally patched up and repaired the sea on. I have memories tied up in that. The same goes for the scar on my wrist from falling off that longboard in college when I was trying to learn (that was the end of that).
- cobbzilla
Maybe I’m weird. I like my scars. I didn’t ask for any of them. Or I unconsciously asked for all of them.
Sometimes the universe makes a mark on you; what you do with that is up to you.
I got a little bold with dear Earth recently and she smacked me pretty hard. I knew what I was doing, knew the risks, and did it anyway. It’s maturing into a decently large scar, and I’m pleased. It’s a nice memory, that kiss.
Maybe I’m weird. Regret minimization, which most people seem to follow as a life strategy, is too boring for me. I always thought I’d die young but after luckily surviving some really stupid decisions in my youth, I’ve gotten much better at measuring risk.
- kepano
I had a similar thought a while ago:
> I find that much anxiety can be alleviated by finding beauty in transience, imperfection, and scars. If we feel judged for our scars, we become afraid to get scarred. We follow the path that results in the least amount of pain, rather than the path that leads to the most amount of learning.
from "Scars are beautiful" (2015)
Twelve years later I can say that thinking about scars/pain this way has made me far more optimistic, less anxious, less fearful.