Friday, May 18, 2012

Forgive Me

It's toughest to forgive ourselves. So it's probably best to start with other people.

Patty Duke
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Hello George
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So many things to be grateful for. So many things to forgive. So many things to regret. So many things to apologize for.

The fact thet human beings don't get things right all the time creates a lot of dust and garbage that either has to be cleaned up or else forgotten about. It gets forgotten because we often can't find or even remember some of the people that we should apologize to. We just have to hope that we have been forgiven or perhaps forgotten.

Forgiveness is another matter. We generally remember those we think have done us wrong, and we have to look at ourselves to see how much resentment we still hold for those people. We can say in our thoughts that we forgive them, but do we really. Forgiveness is a tough one.

Some people hold on to resentment their whole lives and allow it to become a parasite chewing on happiness. As hard as it is forgiveness is the only antidote to resentment. There is no peace of mind without it.

And that brings up the subject of self forgiveness. Most of us harbor regrets, some of them major, which need to be expunged from our lives if we don't want to invite the parasites in to gnaw. I have recently discovered that I can forgive others for things that I find it almost impossible to forgive myself for. But regrets are even tastier meat for the parasites than resentment. So get busy. Roll up your sleeves and plunge your hands into the hot dirty water of regrets and clean out the garbage.

DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never give up.
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5 comments:

Geo. said...

DB., When your post came up in my reader, which crowds things a bit, I misread the opening quote as, "It's toughest to forgive ourselves. So it's probably best to start with Patty Duke."

I laughed and decided to accept it as an axiom. Forgive me?

pacific62 said...

An insightful read. Forgiving is necessary before moving on is possible, however forgiving does not mean forgetting. Some things just cannot be forgotten....ever. If you do not forgive yourself, then you render yourself incapable of moving on as well. We are humans, and as such far from perfect. Plenty of dust and garbage in our lives and a good housecleaning is necessary from time to time.

Jon said...

I've always believed that some things are unforgivable - - it took me nearly a lifetime to finally forgive my father and let go of the past.
I have discovered, however, that the older I get the more easy it is to forgive. All the things that were once so significant now have little meaning.

Patricia said...

Thanks D.B.

Arlene (AJ) said...

Allow yourself to forgive not only you but, others that have done things that were upsetting to you...peace of mind is far more important than dwelling on what someone or yourself did that they wish they had done differently...not worth wasting time wishing things had been different, make the best of what you are doing now, let the past go.