Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Releasing The Prisoner

Forgive… and suddenly you have set yourself free.

There is an anonymous saying: “To forgive is to set a prisoner free — and discover the prisoner was you.”

I suppose there are a million quotes on “forgiveness” and it’s no wonder. The subject of forgiveness has been a long-time pondered one that spans hundreds of years - and rightly so - as it generates from the most basic and fundamental human emotions: love and hate.

I like this quote because it points directly towards taking ownership of our own stuff. We all know what it feels like to harbor resentment, and it’s ugly. But, when we feel we or our loved ones have been wronged, we find ourselves hard pressed to let it go so we can make sure it won’t happen again, … and there we are once more, caught up in the ocean of suffering the Buddhists call samsara. We think we are protecting ourselves, when, in actuality, we are simply perpetuating an inner-world of negativity – even if whoever or whatever it is we are not forgiving is unaware.

Sometimes the most difficult forgiveness to find is for ourselves and yet this is probably the most important. If we cannot forgive ourselves, eventually we can wind up projecting what we hold –pain and suffering. We cannot avoid getting hurt in life, but we don’t have to play the victim. We can choose what we will keep and what we let go. Releasing our own prisoner from the grips of unforgiving, frees up space in our heart for… well, YOU choose!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love you and I love your blog. I look forward to the email notifications of your latest posting. Your wisdom and insight I value more than you know. You always give me something to think about, and it motivates me to want to be a better person, a better mom, a better wife, and friend. Thank you for your friendship. Mary D.

P.S. We really need to make a date soon for some good wine and conversation. And I want to hear all about Costa Rica!

Anonymous said...

How do you do it Karen? My dear Lady Guru, each word you write feels as if it is always coming at exactly the right time.

How can another know if we are harboring some long standing pain, resentment or anger if we don't come clean with it? And then, how often is it that what we
were so dearly holding onto, is often not accurate or true. How can we do that to ourselves and the other?

I love you sweetie.
another lady guru

TM said...

This is yet another great post. Once again, proud to be your sis.

And yes, maybe for that same mysterious reason one finds it so difficult to be as good to oneself as one is to others, it IS harder to forgive oneself than to forgive others. At least, this is true for me. But I'm getting there... :)

Anonymous said...

Who knows where to download XRumer 5.0 Palladium?
Help, please. All recommend this program to effectively advertise on the Internet, this is the best program!