Monday, June 8, 2009

Forgiveness

We can surely all remember a time, back when we were tiny children, when perhaps we did something we knew we should not have.  We worried what mom, dad, or perhaps what our teacher would do when they found out.  Our stomachs churned, and our minds raced, as we tossed ideas of gloom back and forth in our heads like ping pong balls.  It was awful; the anticipation.

If we were lucky, mom put her arms around us and told us everything was going to be fine.  We knew we had been forgiven, and felt relieved, almost absolved of our ills.  The feeling of forgiveness was like nothing we had ever felt before.  Feeling forgiven, made us feel whole again.

Far too many of us hold onto anger when we should simply let it go.  Many of us are addicted to feelings of rage and chaos, but don't realize it.  We hear our friends claim they are looking for peace, but instead, every time we turn around, our friend is adding more chaos to his life.  He speaks of revenge, of jealousy, of fear, and of all things negative, yet, he claims he wants nothing more but a little bit of peace.

The truth is, he doesn't want peace.  He wants the same things he has always had; chaos.  If someone truly wants peace, he/she needs to change their mind.  In order to attract peace into our lives, it is necessary for us to let go of those things we are used to.  If we are used to thinking thoughts that include rationalizing rage, anger, jealousy, or fear, then we need to decide to no longer allow our minds to rationalize them.

We are thinking human beings.  Thoughts that pop into our heads are more programmed thought patterns than they are actually products of a "thinking mind".  Thinking requires conscious effort.  One must decide to judge their thoughts if peace is ever to replace a chaotic mindset.

Forgiving others, is as much a gift to someone else as it is to you.  When you decide to let go of anger, the soul heals.  It is unnatural for the spirit to hate, which is why rage makes people feel so heavy, and love makes us feel so light.  Forgiving someone for something terrible they might have done to us, does not mean we forget, nor does it mean we accept what has been done.  Forgiving others means choosing not to carry hate in our bodies against anyone any longer, for any reason.  

I have been wronged many times throughout my life.  While I do not accept nor condone some of the terrible things that have been done to me by others, I do accept that whatever was done to me was done by someone who was not as evolved as he/she should have been.  Only someone who is lacking spiritual enlightenment can seek to intentionally harm another human being.  Because this is so, instead, I tend to feel empathy for anyone who does not know that when they seek to intentionally inflict harm on another, they show the world how unenlightened they truly are.

I can forgive, because I know only a mind that is lacking, can need to harm another.  

Jesus said, "Forgive them father, for they not know what they do."  Jesus died full of forgiveness, as well as peace, because he understood how unenlightened the average mind of man was.

By allowing forgiveness to overcome our ego based rage, we help elevate ourselves to a place of higher spiritual enlightenment.  When we spread forgiveness, we enhance the peace that is on our planet, and in doing so, we help make the world we live in a better place for us all.