Forgiveness

Now I know that forgiveness is really important, and that perhaps it is the best skill that a person can have.  I have never struggled with forgiveness unless it fits the two following conditions: the person refuses (or cannot, or maybe is in denial) to talk with me about the problem that I have with them, and when I feel as though there has been a lack of respect in the way that the problem has been dealt with.  When these two conditions exist, for me forgiveness is impossible.  I want to change that though, but my own stubbornness is harder to change - think it's easier to talk the talk than to walk the walk.

I have to talk through a problem to figure it out, and can't do it any other way.  When the person is not unable to listen (for whatever reason), I have to talk to someone about it.  Unfortunately, this another downfall of the way that I experience problems.  Anger, and talking about issues does not hurt the other person - it only hurts me.

My goal for the next few months while I am home is to forgive some people, and to remember the beneficial experiences I had with those people, and the learning experiences that I have taken away from these relationships.  I want to learn from past experiences, and change the way that I view future experiences.

In other things that aren't mushy gushy self-help forgiveness emotional bullshit, National Geographic wrote an article on the lives of child brides, along with a photo-essay.  Here's the link : Child Brides. 

Above is a photograph of a five-year-old girl on her wedding day. Photo by Stephanie Sinclair.

Well, over the next few days take the following quote to heart : "There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love." - Bryant H. McGill