Forgiveness is an art, and I am far from a master.
I can forgive well enough to get past the anger, temporarily at least, and do the right thing, preform the task at hand…show kindness to those who have hurt me. Completely letting go, however, forgetting, is another matter altogether.
It’s not that I can’t forget, it’s that I’m not so sure I should. Surely we keep these painful memories for a reason. Self preservation is my best guess.
The dilemma lies in that I don’t think we can ever truly be at peace until we forget. Ultimately it boils down to which we value more, peace or self preservation. Do not delude yourself, this is the choice that must be made.
I’m not ready to make that choice just yet.
S. Conde
I say: never forget … will elaborate another time ..
Can not wait. Very interested in your take on this. oxox
I get the forgiveness part-sometimes it’s easier, sometimes takes awhile– but trusting the person who let me down or betrayed me? No- will not set myself up for them to do it again.
I hear you and agree in most ways. I have a sneaking suspicion though that it is necessary to forget and be vulnerable again in order to truly forgive. That’s the scary bit. It’s a very Christian sentiment…and we know what happened to him.
Excellent post & blog. In reference to this post re forgiveness – it is really hard to totally forget but in order to stop carrying around the experience maybe it is necessary to totally let go and forget it totally. Can be very hard but i hope i’ll get there one day! 🙂
You and me both Patrick. Thank you.