LOVE
AND TOLERANCE
Love and tolerance of others is our code.
ALCOHOLICS
ANONYMOUS, p. 84
I have found that I have to
forgive others in all situations to maintain any real spiritual progress. The
vital importance of forgiving may not be
obvious to me at first sight, bur my studies tell me that every great spiritual
leader has insisted strongly upon it.
I must forgive injuries, not just
in words, or as a matter of form, but in my heart. I do this not for the other
person’s sake, but for my own sake. Resentment, anger, or the desire to see
someone punished, are things that rot my soul. Such things fasten my troubles
to me with chains. They tie me to other problems that have nothing to do with
my original problem.
DAILY
REFLECTIONS, p. 88
&
Forgiveness
is the most difficult spiritual concept of all for me because it can be the
most subtle in its snares. This is especially so in matters of the heart where
letting go is the hardest. Strings there are attached, buried so deep that it
takes some effort to dig them up and cut them off. Speaking from personal
experience, I thought that all I had to do was to say I forgive my ex and that
would be it. Then I thought that when I saw my part in our separation and
divorce, I would no longer have these very private feelings of rage and
despair whenever an incident would remind me of something she did, or didn't do, so very long ago. Resentment stewed and sometimes surfaced in whatever
relationship I was in at the time and, even though I could see the beast up front
and personal, it still had a grip on most of my affairs. This business of
forgiving from the heart takes commitment to every aspect of it and persisting
in forgiving others as well as my self. The healing begins in the wholehearted and
enduring practice of forgiveness.
A touch from the Heart of Compassion brought about by prayer and, especially, meditation helps but it takes time to root it out. I then begin to prefer to think back on all wonderful gifts she brought into my life; like the birth of our daughter,intelligent conversation at the dinner table, the love we once had for each other and thousands of good qualities we shared. Then, instead of hating her, I am reminded of the love I had for her when we stood at the altar and the resentment recedes. The adage that says time heals all wounds holds true in direct proportion to the quality of care I give it. Forgiveness mustn't be a bandage but it must be a salve to help heal.
geo 5,295
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