Day 35 of 100 Days of 100 Ways To Rule Your World

TO FORGIVE & THE MIRROR

I invite you to revisit Day 29 “Letting go of the past” before proceeding.

Every once in a while, I hear about how a person needs to be forgiven for past transgressions. Then the words that follow “I forgive you for whatever you did” are said and as if by magic all is well in the world. Well, when it comes to certain religions it works almost that way.

However, when it comes to dealing with human beings things are a little different. We are dealing with another human not a benevolent god and things can get a little dicey. What if the other person does not want to be forgiven? What if the other person is not prepared to forgive you?

WHAT THE ????

How can someone not be prepared to forgive you? You are ready to forgive them and how dare they not be ready? Who the heck fire do they think they are? Surely, you are the better person because you want to forgive first, how can they treat you this way?

Interesting but all too real. There is one thing that concerns me. I often wonder if those individuals ever stop to think and reflect on why the need to forgive even exists. What happened that caused the need to forgive?
I have always been taught that it takes two to Tango. No matter what it will always take 2. Thus, the need exists to reflect and realize that Individual #1 may be the root cause as to why the trouble occurred in the first place. Thus, accepting that trouble goes where you go may answer the question as to why you have to forgive so many others in the first place.

The next time you are in a position where you MUST forgive someone, STOP, take a long look in the mirror and see things from the other person’s point of view. Who knows you might have to actually “EAT ALL YOUR WORDS, SWALLOW YOUR PRIDE, OPEN YOUR EYES” and APOLOGIZE!

Remember, apologizing is humbling and much better than to be thought of as being sanctimonious by declaring your need to forgive someone. Give it a try, will ya?

Thank you,
David Guerra
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