International Forgiveness Day!!!
This last July, Cindy and Sonali—BTC Volunteers put together an International “Be the Cause” Forgiveness Day….and let me just say…it was a special special eve! The gathering was held at Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro, CA. When I came up to the circle of people who were at this event, I was touched by the posters that people made–illustrations of compassion, love, hugs, forgiveness.
What is forgiveness? Some quotes that I saw online may describe this word called forgiveness that sometimes baffles all of us…I admit, I don’t even know sometimes when something upsets me until it does and sometimes it is hard to let go of hurt, but I always feel all the better for it…no matter if I don’t feel forgiven or whatever wrong I feel has been done to me. Sometimes as stated at this amazing evening of sharing…the hardest one to forgive is oneself. Back to the quotes…here are some that I resonated with:
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.-Plato
When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.-Catherine Ponder
To err is human; to forgive, divine.-Alexander Pope
If I cannot forgive myself for all the blunders
That I have made over the years,
Then how can I proceed?
How can I ever dream perfection-dreams?
Move, I must, forward.
Fly, I must, upward.
Dive, I must, inward,
To be once more
What I truly am
And shall forever remain.
– Sri Chinmoy
“Some tension is necessary for the soul to grow, and we can put that tension to good use. We can look for every opportunity to give and receive love, to appreciate nature, to heal our wounds and the wounds of others, to forgive, and to serve.” -Joan Borysenko
There are a million and one quotes about forgiveness in the world and if we all shared our own thoughts…there would be ten million more :)
When we all gathered as a group, we read outloud some stories…where people have forgiven impossible situations and people…this struck me very deeply…and has made me feel the silliness of some petty arguments or discord. You can forgive from afar…even if the person isn’t in your life currently. You can forgive someone who has passed on, a family member, a significant other, a coworker, someone who has taken advantage of you spiritually, physically or emotionally. Forgiveness isn’t easy, but it’s the best choice to make. Mostly because it will save your own heart…I can’t say your heart won’t break…or that you won’t feel the pain. You probably will. But you will get through it! I believe in all of us and the joy we can all create for true peace in this world…