--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Time does not heal wounds. It's a body's…" description: "\"“Time does not heal wounds. It's a body's ritual that does. The instinctual cleansing with rain or other waters, the application of salves. Despite the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bc/t-greenwood-34107_fear_time-does-not-heal-wounds-it-s-a-body-s_168402.jpg" --- # Time does not heal wounds. It's a body's ritual that does… ![“Time does not heal wounds. It's a body's ritual that does. The instinctual cleansing with rain or other waters, the application of salves. Despite the sting. Even neglected, the body begins to take care. To repair itself. Blood clots, tissues regenerate, flesh scars. Soon, the thin white line is…” quote by T. Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bc/t-greenwood-34107_fear_time-does-not-heal-wounds-it-s-a-body-s_168402.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bc/t-greenwood-34107_fear_time-does-not-heal-wounds-it-s-a-body-s_168402.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bc/t-greenwood-34107_fear_time-does-not-heal-wounds-it-s-a-body-s_168402.jpg) > ““Time does not heal wounds. It's a body's ritual that does. The instinctual cleansing with rain or other waters, the application of salves. Despite the sting. Even neglected, the body begins to take care. To repair itself. Blood clots, tissues regenerate, flesh scars. Soon, the thin white line is the only evidence of the pain. It is the body, not time. Time does nothing except create distance between the body and that which caused it harm. Recollection of fear can be stronger than the original fear itself. Similarly, bliss is sometimes more vivid when recollected. How else do you explain longing? Longing for what has already passed. That's the real pain. But you insisted, you pried with your fingers to see. You retuned to me after I turned away. You made me recollect for you, collect again and again for you, interrupting the healing with your curiosity. Now that I have given you the words, you may long for them. You may miss me. You may try to find the notes to the song again and again and won't be able to find them. Perhaps, the wounds I made will already have begun to scar. Maybe the body will have begun its ritual of forgetting. I told you not to ask for haunted, not to ask me to recollect. Because recollection is like tearing at closed wounds. Like pealing back the careful tissue put there by the body to make it safe. And because remembered pain is always worse than the original pain, because this time it is expected. This time you already know how much it will hurt.”” [T. Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-greenwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Healing is a physical process driven by the body’s own mechanisms, not by the passage of time; recalling pain can intensify it, while longing for past experiences creates its own suffering. **In simple terms:** The body heals itself, and remembering pain can make it feel worse. Key Takeaway Allow wounds to heal without repeatedly revisiting them. Themes healing memory pain longing time body Mood reflective somber introspective Type philosophical psychological poetic When to use this quote - recovering from injury - processing grief - dealing with loss - reflecting on past relationships - seeking closure Key Concepts physiology psychology trauma nostalgia recollection Questions to Reflect On - Do you tend to revisit painful memories? - How does longing affect your present wellbeing? A Different Perspective Repeatedly recalling trauma can reopen wounds and hinder recovery. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fear Itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-itself/) [Harm Recollection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harm-recollection-1828304/) [Healing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healing/) [Moving forward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving-forward/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Real pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-pain/) [Recollected Explain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recollected-explain-1828306/) [Recollection Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recollection-fear-1828305/) [Remembered Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembered-pain-983238/) [Scars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scars/) ## Related quotes > [“His heart actually stumbled when he remembered her pain. He immediately knelt by her head. “Eve, how can I fix this? Tell me what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/his-heart-actually-stumbled-when-he-remembered-her-pain-he/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [Jude remembered this pain. Every woman had felt some version of it: the end of first love. It was when you learned, for good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/jude-remembered-this-pain-every-woman-had-felt-some-version-of-it-the/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“Remembered pain tightened his mouth into a grim line. The weeks he’d spent looking for her had left permanent scars on his heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-janzen/remembered-pain-tightened-his-mouth-into-a-grim-line-the-weeks-he-d/) [Tara Janzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-janzen/) > [I remembered the pain as clearly as if I were shifting — the pain of loss. I felt the agony of the single moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/i-remembered-the-pain-as-clearly-as-if-i-were-shifting-the-pain-of/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [Anger is remembered pain, fear is anticipated pain, guilt is self directed pain, depression is depletion of energy. Cure-return to love& joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/anger-is-remembered-pain-fear-is-anticipated-pain-guilt-is-self/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“I think it was the first real pain I ever felt in my life, he would tell the others. It wasn't what I thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-think-it-was-the-first-real-pain-i-ever-felt-in-my-life-he-would/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Sometimes being a contrary bastard was a real pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-foster/sometimes-being-a-contrary-bastard-was-a-real-pain/) [Lori Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-foster/) > [“You know," I said to my sister later at the funeral. "I think Mom is telling the truth about losing us. We're never going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/you-know-i-said-to-my-sister-later-at-the-funeral-i-think-mom-is/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [People believe a man is in distress because his loved one dies in one day. But his real pain is less futile: it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/people-believe-a-man-is-in-distress-because-his-loved-one-dies-in-one/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“We draw our lines around these moments of pain, and remain upon our islands, and they cannot hurt us. They are covered with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/we-draw-our-lines-around-these-moments-of-pain-and-remain-upon-our/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Sad songs are a safe hurt. It's a diversion. It's controlled. And maybe it helps you imagine that real pain will be like that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/sad-songs-are-a-safe-hurt-it-s-a-diversion-it-s-controlled-and-maybe/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [“We all have scars.” Nathaniel looked him straight in the eyes. “Only some of us wear ours on the inside. They don’t change who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynley-wayne/we-all-have-scars-nathaniel-looked-him-straight-in-the-eyes-only-some/) [Lynley Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynley-wayne/) > [When I was a kid, I used to play a game called 'Grand Prix Two.' Interlagos was always the first race of the season…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hamilton/when-i-was-a-kid-i-used-to-play-a-game-called-grand-prix-two/) [Lewis Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hamilton/) > [“On the other hand, he was compassionate because he knew pain, real pain, and real suffering too. Yet even in those bouts when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-alexander/on-the-other-hand-he-was-compassionate-because-he-knew-pain-real-pain/) [Robert Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-alexander/) ## More by T. Greenwood > [“People say we are defined by the choices that we make;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-greenwood/people-say-we-are-defined-by-the-choices-that-we-make/) [T. Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-greenwood/) > [“This is the thing about a lie: over time, it not only obscures the truth but consumes it. Those who pursue veracity (those dogooders,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-greenwood/this-is-the-thing-about-a-lie-over-time-it-not-only-obscures-the/) [T. Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-greenwood/) > [“... I thought about things stolen from me. I thought about the thieves I had known.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-greenwood/i-thought-about-things-stolen-from-me-i-thought-about-the-thieves-i/) [T. Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-greenwood/) > [“We lived among people whose poverty could be seen in the length of their faces, in their tired speech and in the heaviness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-greenwood/we-lived-among-people-whose-poverty-could-be-seen-in-the-length-of/) [T. Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-greenwood/) > [“... I'm a half-empty kind of girl.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-greenwood/i-m-a-half-empty-kind-of-girl/) [T. Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-greenwood/) > [“The Chinese philosopher Mencius believed that man is innately good. He argued that anyone who saw a child falling into a well would immediately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-greenwood/the-chinese-philosopher-mencius-believed-that-man-is-innately-good-he/) [T. Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-greenwood/) > [“And I think about how I used to be the one who fixed things. How I used to be the strong one. When did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-greenwood/and-i-think-about-how-i-used-to-be-the-one-who-fixed-things-how-i/) [T. Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-greenwood/) > [“Sometimes things need to get broken”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-greenwood/sometimes-things-need-to-get-broken/) [T. Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-greenwood/) > [“We pretended she'd only gotten lost in the colors of fall. Piper”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-greenwood/we-pretended-she-d-only-gotten-lost-in-the-colors-of-fall-piper/) [T. Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-greenwood/) > [“Sometimes I felt like the mundane details of our lives were the only things tethering me to the world. I could hold onto them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-greenwood/sometimes-i-felt-like-the-mundane-details-of-our-lives-were-the-only/) [T. Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-greenwood/) > [The secret to happiness is counting your blessings while others are adding up their troubles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-greenwood/the-secret-to-happiness-is-counting-your-blessings-while-others-are/) [T. Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-greenwood/) > [“And everything with you is always so, I don't know, fucking heavy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-greenwood/and-everything-with-you-is-always-so-i-don-t-know-fucking-heavy/) [T. Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-greenwood/) > [“My mother, stuck in Two Rivers with a head full of unfulfilled dreams, escaped every chance she got via the Two Rivers Free Library…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-greenwood/my-mother-stuck-in-two-rivers-with-a-head-full-of-unfulfilled-dreams/) [T. Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-greenwood/) [Explore all 14 T. Greenwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-greenwood/) ## More Fear quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [“That horrible stinging sensation returned, the muscles behind my eyes straining as the first tear began to fall. “I’m scared, too. For eighteen months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-ashley/that-horrible-stinging-sensation-returned-the-muscles-behind-my-eyes/) [Devon Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-ashley/) > [“...Often that which most we fear births the resolve that spurs us on to altitudes we could not have achieved, had we continued walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-t-anderson/often-that-which-most-we-fear-births-the-resolve-that-spurs-us-on-to/) [M.T. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-t-anderson/) > [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Anything that you find yourself worrying about regularly may find you suddenly wanting unrealistic changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-tatsumi/anything-that-you-find-yourself-worrying-about-regularly-may-find-you/) [Nagisa Tatsumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nagisa-tatsumi/) > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“I had nowhere to go and did not wish to be seen by anyone for fear they would recognize my sadness and so for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dewitt/i-had-nowhere-to-go-and-did-not-wish-to-be-seen-by-anyone-for-fear/) [Patrick deWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dewitt/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [“Snip off the little worries and expressions of worry” like little branches atop a tall tree.28 If you are truly worried, sharing your concerns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-sanders/snip-off-the-little-worries-and-expressions-of-worry-like-little/) [Tim Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-sanders/) > [“Fear and desire for pleasure. Aggressiveness comes out of fear, predominantly, and sexuality predominantly out of the other. But they mix in the middle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/fear-and-desire-for-pleasure-aggressiveness-comes-out-of-fear/) [Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Don't be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don't let others discourage you or tell you that you can't do it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/don-t-be-afraid-of-hard-work-nothing-worthwhile-comes-easily-don-t/) [Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) [Browse all 35,569 Fear quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Time does not heal wounds. It's a body's ritual that does. The instinctual cleansing with rain or other waters, the application of salves. Despite the sting. Even neglected, the body begins to take care. To repair itself. Blood clots, tissues regenerate, flesh scars. Soon, the thin white line is the only evidence of the pain. It is the body, not time. Time does nothing except create distance between the body and that which caused it harm. Recollection of fear can be stronger than the original fear itself. Similarly, bliss is sometimes more vivid when recollected. How else do you explain longing? Longing for what has already passed. That's the real pain. But you insisted, you pried with your fingers to see. You retuned to me after I turned away. You made me recollect for you, collect again and again for you, interrupting the healing with your curiosity. Now that I have given you the words, you may long for them. You may miss me. You may try to find the notes to the song again and again and won't be able to find them. Perhaps, the wounds I made will already have begun to scar. Maybe the body will have begun its ritual of forgetting. I told you not to ask for haunted, not to ask me to recollect. Because recollection is like tearing at closed wounds. Like pealing back the careful tissue put there by the body to make it safe. And because remembered pain is always worse than the original pain, because this time it is expected. This time you already know how much it will hurt.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "T. Greenwood" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-greenwood/time-does-not-heal-wounds-it-s-a-body-s-ritual-that-does-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fear" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-greenwood/time-does-not-heal-wounds-it-s-a-body-s-ritual-that-does-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bc/t-greenwood-34107_fear_time-does-not-heal-wounds-it-s-a-body-s_168402.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bc/t-greenwood-34107_fear_time-does-not-heal-wounds-it-s-a-body-s_168402.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bc/t-greenwood-34107_fear_time-does-not-heal-wounds-it-s-a-body-s_168402.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Time does not heal wounds. It's a body's ritual that does. The instinctual cleansing with rain or other…” — T. Greenwood", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "T. Greenwood", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-greenwood/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Time does not heal wounds. It's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-greenwood/time-does-not-heal-wounds-it-s-a-body-s-ritual-that-does-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-greenwood/time-does-not-heal-wounds-it-s-a-body-s-ritual-that-does-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```