Forgiveness
One of the most important things you can do for your own
personal development is to forgive. It is all very well to say
‘love one another’ but when you cannot feel it in your heart it
is of no benefit for you to know this concept. Regarding
forgiveness – how can you truly arrive at forgiving someone that
has done you such a disservice in your life that it rankles
within you no matter how hard you try to eliminate it?
The first step is to understand the other party, and that
includes you. Quite often it is difficult for you to forgive
yourself for something you did in error of judgement, and you
and others have suffered as a consequence. So the first thing is
to understand, either yourself or the other party. If it is
yourself or the other party, perhaps one individual, perhaps a
group of individuals at fault, then look honestly at the
circumstances. Look beyond the action or the situation, whether
it be a one instance or a drawn out condition. Look to see
why the other party conducted themselves as they did. Go further
so that you may understand what led up to it. This might require
some work on your part. Perhaps it was up-bringing; perhaps it
was a pattern being repeated brought down from parental
behaviour. Perhaps it was circumstances beyond that party’s
control, and they acted according to what they considered to be
the best course of action and not thinking of consequences or
reaction of those around them.
When you have understood you may find it easier in your heart to
forgive. All individuals act in the best interests, according to
their mind set. They do not consider they are acting
irrationally or in error. They may think of this later, but at
the time they do not.
How often have you as an individual committed an act that you
now are ashamed of, or which has had terrible consequences, or
of which you now feel guilty and cannot undo whatever damage
there may have been? Even you, when you behave in any way
whatsoever, you act according to the current situations at the
time, and from your perspective act for a betterment of that
situation. Sometimes there is an error of judgement and not a
deliberate bad act intended to hurt others. So forgive yourself
for inexperience, for bad judgement. How can you be all
wise at all times? If you were all wise you wouldn’t be on
this planet. If those you need to forgive were all wise they
wouldn’t be on this planet. Every living soul on this planet
conducts themselves according to the best of their abilities, in
their view. It is only with hindsight that there may be
regret or guilty feelings. If you were all to understand this
and forgive then matters could be laid to rest.
Not everybody is wise. How hard it is to forgive someone who has
done terrible things to another. Again we ask you to look
beyond. Why did that individual behave in that way? What
was there in that person’s upbringing that brought about that
characteristic, that nature? We know it is not easy and we
are simply asking you to look a little further so that you may
put forgiveness into action.
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