Time Heals........ or does it?

The cliche is that Time Heals All Wounds.  Some would almost call it a truism rather than simply a cliche, because for so many people, it is indeed the case.  I'm finding though that sometimes, time doesn't actually heal a wound.. it simply allows it to scab over a bit so that it's not a glaring, gaping, open sore oozing emotional pus all over everyone around.

There are a few emotional wounds in my past that it took me years to finally actually get over.  It didn't take that long because I somehow "wanted" to hang on to the wounds or the emotional grief they caused me.  They simply..... never quite went away, no matter how hard I tried to forget, or whether I talked about them or didn't, or how frequently I told myself that it was useless to hold on to the ache and that I should simply let it go.

All my life, people have been telling me, "just let it go - it's over, and there's nothing you can do to change the past, so why bother to keep talking about it (or why do you still ache from it?)"  Various psyche sorts, family members, and the odd boyfriend now and then, have all told me that.  If only it were as easily done as said.  Saying "it's in the past, let it go since you can't change it" is really easy - for anyone - even the most compassionate person on the planet.  Actually being able to forget, step beyond the various hurts, and put them behind you without significantly changing you?  Now that's something that's not nearly so easy to accomplish.