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Forgiveness is our greatest power.
If one aspires to be some kind of superhero, as many seem to, then one must identify the "super powers" they already possess. Love, charity and forgiveness are super powers when one learns to understand and cultivate them. As human beings we have a tendency towards weakness. If this life and this world are a testing ground, as I believe, then we must cultivate. We must help, love and understand each other. And we must learn to forgive. Too easily we make ourselves the judges of our neighbor. We grow our power, but in the wrong direction, by hoisting ourself into imagined righteousness by downgrading others.
We rush to judgment. We select those who best understand the law of the land to pass judgment. Yet, the law exists for only one reason, to maintain order. Without order there remains only chaos, but this does not validate the law. The law does not validate itself. The people's support of the law is its only validation.
To live outside the law you must be honest
Can we truly forgive those who have committed grave misdeeds and offenses against ourselves and those we hold dear? Do we judge them unworthy of forgiveness because of the nature of their crimes? Is our sentence and penalty just? Will it change the nature of what has happened? Or do we seek to penalize and condemn for reasons of vengeance and retribution? If we do so, then we become less than they. We try to transfer our suffering to them. They become the victim and we become the aggressor.
Those appointed to pass judgment and sentence those who break the law are important to the maintenance of order in the collective reality of individual societies. Their appointment is to serve this purpose. If they execute the functions of their appointment successfully, they maintain order and promote harmony within the collective reality. We are discouraged from breaking the law when we know there will be a penalty for doing so. People, as a societal collective, become prosperous and strong under just laws and penalties.
The passing of judgment by appointed officials of a collective reality and the passing of judgment by individuals against one another are two entirely different concepts. The heart grows heavy with our anger, contempt and hatred for each other. We are all brothers and sisters in this place where we have come to spend some time together. Our purpose here is to learn from each other and to grow from within, to become stronger and more capable of finding our way in what is to follow. To gravitate towards our weaker and more base emotions reduces our ability to follow the path.
I remember when I was destitute. Taking a one day job downtown, I worked late into the evening. All I had was a dollar for the bus and a single cigarette. I held onto the cigarette all day, planning to smoke it when I got home before going to bed. Standing at the bus stop, reading the schedule times, I noted that the last bus home seemed to be late. There were other buses, but they were going in other directions, so I waited. A man with crutches came towards me. He asked if I could spare a cigarette. I took the pack out of my pocket and gave him my last one. We talked for a moment and he asked me which bus I was waiting for. When I told him, he turned around and pointed. It was behind another bus where I could not see it and it was about to leave. I thanked him and ran towards the bus, catching it just before it pulled away. I turned around to look at him again, but he had vanished.
I could have looked away from this man. He was dishelved and twisted with an affliction that made it difficult for him to walk. I could have judged him as unworthy of my attention, and in a different time I may have. I certainly could have judged him unworthy of my last cigarette, but I did not. Had I passed judgment on him I would never have made it onto my bus and the walk home would have been a very long one. I didn't expect to receive anything from him in return.
If this man had instead been a thief wanting to steal my last dollar at knifepoint, I would have given it to him. I would have been angry at his transgression, but would have given him my forgiveness. What he received in return for distress upon the nature of his soul would have not been ample, just as no perceived reward for crimes against another are worthy of the damage done within. He would have borne a great weight and my long walk would have been very light. If I were to fill myself with anger and contempt upon my walk it would have grown heavy. I am not my brother's keeper. I cannot control or change what he does, whether what he does is right or wrong. I can only reflect on what it means to me, and the nature of the path I must follow.
Give everything you can to everyone you know
The greatest thing you can give is forgiveness
I have forgiven the woman who falsely accused me of
attempted rape. I forgave the father of my
childhood best friend, who systematically sexually abused his children when they were young, driving my friend to
suicide. I forgave a friend who once betrayed me over a disappointingly small amount of money. I forgave the men who once raped the women I love. I forgave the men who flew planes into the
World Trade Center. Still, the person I forgive most often is myself, for I realize each and every one of my transgressions and I labor to move beyond them. The future is not the past. Every time a flower dies, another grows in its place. We are not
perfect, but we have an incredible super power known as forgiveness.
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