Coach Notes for Women in the Rockies


Sacred Wound

Sacred Wound

by David Solie

Like the unforeseen and unavoidable forces of the avalanche that wounded this mountainside, life delivers its own set of deep wounds that leave all of us barren and scarred.  And when this happens, we are sure that no good can ever come from it and for a while, that seems true.

But behind the scenes of all wounding, deeper forces are at work  mobilizing the recovery process.  For the mountains in Colorado, aspens are summoned to infiltrate the scared mountainside bringing with them new energy, beauty and healing.  Their mission is not to erase the wound.  Instead, their work is to  transform the wound into an unimaginable and inspiring beauty from what was barren and scarred.  And clearly, they do.

For humans, a similar opportunity exists to transform wounds into ways never thought possible.  But like the mountainside, it cannot do it alone. All of us need the aspen-like forces of love, friendships, nature, animals and community to infiltrate our lives and do their magic.  But their transformative power doesn’t end with us.

At some point in recovery, we come to understand that our suffering has given us a unique authority, empathy and responsibility  for those who have sustained similar wounds.  And with it, our journey of personal transformation suddenly expands into a divine prelude for coming along side others who are in desperate need our support.  What had once left us barren, scarred and hopeless becomes a “sacred wound” that brings hope, courage and comfort to those who need it the most…