Every person you meet carries a wound. Some walk with old scars, healed but never forgotten. Some have fresh wounds, still open, still raw. Others burn with pain so deep it has become part of who they are. There are wounds that seem small but never stop aching. There are wounds that should have healed but never quite did. And there are wounds so complicated, even the wounded cannot explain them.

Yet, unlike the wounds of the flesh, these cannot be seen. No bandages cover them. No stitches hold them together. No blood falls to the ground to warn you of their presence. But they are there, hidden beneath smiles, behind laughter, in the silence of those who speak less than they used to.

And because they are unseen, we forget they exist.

The stranger you pass in the street may be grieving a loss they never speak of. The colleague who seems distant may be carrying burdens too heavy to share. The friend who once laughed freely may be fighting battles that have taken the light from their eyes. Even those who seem the strongest, the most composed, the most successful, yes, even they have wounds.

And then, there is you. You, too, are carrying something. You, too, have been hurt. You, too, have scars some that have faded, some that still sting.

So what does this mean?

It means that when you speak, do so with care, for you never know which words might press against an open wound.

It means that when you judge, pause, for you do not know what silent battle someone is fighting.

It means that when you love, love gently, for even those who seem unbreakable may be holding themselves together with fragile threads.

Understanding this does not mean you must walk on eggshells, afraid to speak or act. It simply means moving through life with awareness. It means not assuming that pain must be visible to be real. It means treating others not as flawless beings, but as fellow travelers, each carrying their own unseen burdens.

And if you must touch a wound, let it be with healing hands, not with careless ones.

Because in a world where everyone is wounded, kindness is the closest thing we have to medicine.