Wounding and being wounded are inevitable in our human situation. We are wounded by many factors nobody caused or intended. Maybe some failure of love at a time when we were very young and very vulnerable has left its mark; we may have been too young to register it consciously, but alive enough to receive its imprint. Or maybe we were older and quite aware, and bear the wound consciously in the form of a fear or grudge. Growing up in poverty leaves many forever fearful of not having enough, and they may hoard or covet, or may harbor ill-defined but deep-seated insecurity or resentment. We grow up in an environment of prejudice and hostility, and we almost inevitably absorb these traits. We are wounded both in ways we know and in ways we don’t know. We bear scars both from those who have loved us and from those who have not.

And we wound. Automatically, unwittingly, inevitably. We do not see another’s need or hear her or his spoken or unspoken request. We get distracted and overlook someone who needs attention. We are limited and we miss cues, fail to meet hopes and expectations. Often not because we want to, but just because we are unable not to.

And the circle widens. Participation in our society inevitably means wounding…. We wound indirectly when we waste while others starve, and when we allow developments in our society and environment … that will inevitably injure life in future generations….

We must become alert to how and when we would. We can’t – and needn’t – carry a load of guilt or fear for what we do not see. But we can carry a sense of responsibility for being tender toward all of creation, caring in all our relationships; we can think kindly, deal reverently, “walk gently upon the earth.”

–Elaine M. Prevallet in Pendle Hill Pamphlet 261: Interconnections