It’s Time To Rip Off The Band-Aids

Us humans, well, we like to band-aid everything.

We put on band-aids to cover up failures, to hide battle scars, to mask heartache. We put on band-aids in an attempt to disguise hurt, fear or doubt. We put on band-aids to try and ease the sting from the rejection we received, or to mend the burn we felt when we were forced to watch everything we care about be ripped from our grasp. We put on band-aids when we slip hard, to lessen the brunt of our falls.

We put on band-aids as a means of protection. We put on band-aid after band-aid to add barriers between us and everything we are afraid of. Everything that has hurt us, or has the potential to. We put on band-aids to dull the pain. We wear so many layers of band-aids that we don’t even recognize our own flesh and blood anymore. We wear so many band-aids that we forget what we look like. We forget who we are deep down at our core.

Ripping off a band-aid makes you feel uncomfortable. It makes you feel uncomfortable from the very moment you begin to think about ripping it off. When you aren’t sure that you want to go through with it. When you aren’t sure if you can. It makes you feel uncomfortable when it’s been completely removed. When the walls you’ve been building up have nowhere to go but down.

Ripping off a band-aid makes you feel exposed. It makes you feel open again, like you weren’t sure that you would ever be able to be. It makes you feel exposed when it forces you to see what’s been hiding there underneath the surface. When it forces you to see what you’ve been hiding from everyone’s eyes, including your own.

It’s time to rip off the band-aids.

The job you’re still working. The job you’re staying put at even though it’s eating at your soul. Rip off the band-aid and go.

The person you’ve been wanting to be honest with, but find yourself waiting for the right words. Rip off the band-aid and start talking. The words will come.

The walls you’ve spent years upon years building. Rip off the band-aid and watch them fall, one by one.

The heartache you’ve become a master at ignoring, hoping that one day it will fade away. Rip off the band-aid and learn to love again. Start with loving yourself.

The dream you’re too scared to pursue because you don’t know which direction to go to get there. Rip off the band-aid and start running. Every dream begins somewhere.

The hurt you’re too afraid to let yourself feel all over again. Rip off the band-aid and give it some air. Give it some time. Just let it breathe.

Ripping off a band-aid allows for new growth. It allows for a tougher skin to form.

It’s time to rip off the band-aids. It’s time to open up the wounds and let them heal.

It’s the only way to heal.