Ripples #659: Forgive.

Ripples #659: Forgive.
For our tribe of 29,696 busy people who share encouragement and gratitude.
01/10/2012

PEBBLE:
Forgiveness is not an occasional act,
it is a constant attitude.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

BOULDER:
Forgiving does not erase the bitter past.
A healed memory is not a deleted memory.
Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget
creates a new way to remember.
We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future.
-Lewis B. Smedes, submitted by Nathan in Plymouth, NH

PONDER:
I have complicated, conflicting perspectives on forgiveness and I have been pondering the above boulder that Nathan submitted a few months ago. On the one hand I recognize there
is a weight to carrying a grudge or holding on to a past hurt in a way that burdens a person who was wronged, possibly without any consequence to the offender. On the other hand, I recognize that many people have experienced significant wounds that were intentionally inflicted without compassion for the injured.

The distinction between a "healed" and "deleted" memory is a powerful one, and I invite you to join me in pondering how creating a "new way to remember" old hurts might help us move forward with our lives and improve how we engage with others.

Peace,
Paul