Today’s Brilliance from Stephen Edwards

As a life-long learner, one of the most important things I can share with you is the power of the simple act of forgiveness. I want to share this piece of “Soultry”, because it really brings the act of forgiveness to life.

For Ever and Ever
Sometimes it’s hard to take things in your stride, 
To turn the other cheek, look away, and swallow your pride.
But some people strike out in their anger and pain. 
And we must forgive them, again and again.
Try to understand, that although it’s not okay
It’s not your job to make them pay.
Give them the benefit of what you know.
Show them love, and help them to grow.
You see, bitterness and anger only fuel the fire. 
It’s to love and happiness that we all need to aspire.
If you try to find the good in all that you do 
You’ll find it will reflect right back at you.
Material things are great to get and to give 
But they are not the reason that we all live.
It’s those memories of moments, of times spent together
That binds us together as one, forever and ever.

Whew! I don’t know about you, but just reading those words makes the knees of my heart bend.

But watch closely here. The forgiveness that we tend to think of first is really a false forgiveness. It goes something like this:

“Well, I will forgive that rat, but I am the better person for it, and certainly a better one than him.”

Or maybe it’s a little more subtle, like this:

“Oh, I pity this poor, helpless person. They can’t help themselves because of X, Y and Z. So I will allow they are not responsible and still hold myself as higher and forgive that sad little thing.”

These are simply maneuvers of the logical mind to keep the grievance while letting it go. And this is not a plan that will work.

No, the forgiveness I am speaking of requires some real honesty with yourself. Attend this well.

• It is important not to confuse forgiveness with denial. Instead of denying the world and its pain, which is just another form of grievance, you allow it and look through it to see a truer, brighter reflection.
• And once you look closely at the situation and realize you can’t judge – not just that you shouldn’t, but you actually can’t judge – because you can never know all the circumstances involved. Then you just relax your mind and let it go.

And that is it! That is the key! Forgiveness is simply a letting go, a relaxing, or a releasing of your logical mind. Whoooosh you can feel the peace rushing in to smooth the wrinkles your grievances have caused. Once you unlock that power then other things will be allowed to flow into your life. The blockages you’ve experienced will soon disappear as you continue to let go and be free.

From here you can change the world. Your light allows love to express itself and that will affect people and situations close to you and far beyond your awareness. But most importantly, you will feel you have finally found a place that feels like home.