This is a letter I wrote for one of my most peace loving friends, after he’d expressed anger and frustration at all the “intolerant assholes fighting each other in the world”. So, yeah, this letter is for my friend me, and all the other assholes:
Can’t we find even a bit of forgiveness in ourselves?
We know that when we look through the lens of forgiveness we see things differently. We see things as they really are: we are just people acting out of fear; the fighting is all so unnecessary; and each of us are just trying to sort it all out.
Forgiveness is not the same as condoning someone’s unwanted behavior, as it comes with no risk of loss. Forgiveness happens with the realization that the very same fears which are in us are in the “other” as well –and what’s more, we see that to them we are in fact the “other”.
We can forgive others for being blinded by their fear –the fear their story will collapse underneath them– the story of “who is right?” and “who is wrong?”. We can also forgive ourselves for letting our fear control us, even when we know better. When we understand our own tendencies, we can understand those of another. For it is easy to feel like we are merely fighting to be a sane person in an insane world.
To stop fighting is the way to stop the fighting. Fighting against anything or anyone is reinforcing the war we say we don’t want to be a part of. Forgiveness is how we stop the war– forgiveness is our power. Someone has to lay down their sword first…and it’s the hardest thing to do, isn’t it? And it is that simple. Forgiveness is a decision we humans can make –beyond the fight, flight, or freeze reactions of the autonomic nervous system. When we forgive, we are not relinquishing control to another, but we are deciding not to participate in the perpetuation of the fight. “It takes two to tango” and “Ignore the bully, don’t play his game.” remember?
(Speaking of game, the next time I write you it’ll be about that…that there’s a bigger game going on here that we have temporarily forgotten about.) Anyway, I hope this made sense. It’s hard to find the words, even when it’s a much talked about concept, you know?
Love,
me.
P.S. It’s fun to be aware if consciousness evolving, isn’t it? Wild stuff!
makelightwork 