On Forgiving...

There was a man many years ago who was envious, calculating and vindictive who decided to yield to his hate, and accused Ed of something he didn’t do.  It was proven to be false, and the man shrunk away, but did not dispose of his hate.  Ed never interacted with him again, but remained resentful. 

Again, in later years, there were people who attacked Ed’s integrity, second guessed his decisions, undermined and sought to destroy him.  While Ed leaned on his professionalism, his training and experience, he remained steady and stoic.  Ed became indifferent, despite the fact that he could have carried the grudges and bitterness with him.  And to some extent, in his physical life, he became jaded, like many of us do after facing hurt or pain at the hands of others.

When we die, it is my belief that we leave this earth, leaving all of the pain, grief, hate and blame behind.  One reason I believe this is that we pray “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.  This prayer, if said sincerely and faithfully must mean that we are to try to create a place on earth that is loving, forgiving and compassionate.  In that same perfect prayer, we are asked to forgive, with no conditions or exceptions.  “Forgive our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  It doesn’t say forgive those who are nice, those who think the way we do, or those who are friends.

I have been questioned as to why I have forgiven those who dished out grief and stress on to Ed; I’ve been questioned, with a raised eyebrow why I would associate with anyone who may have wounded or injured him, betrayed him or challenged his integrity.  It is really very simple.  When he left the physical plane, he carried no hate or resentment, no grudges or bitterness into the afterlife.  All of it was buried with him, and not left for me to carry.  None of us need the leftover grudges, hate or resentment that don’t belong to us.  If you have a loved one who has died, you are not obligated, and don’t need to carry forward any resentment or hate for their sake, because they are in a place where forgiveness and compassion replaces and surpasses all of that.  And if we are to believe that heaven is void of the earthly bitterness and pettiness, then would it not make sense to believe that our loved ones there would not want us to take up those grudges they left behind?

Hurry to seek forgiveness and be ready to forgive others. Life is too brief to cling to the hurts you've endured or those endured by those before us. They didn't hold onto these grievances when they departed, so why should we? We don't honor them by perpetuating hatred. We honor them by forgiving those who wronged them.