Day 14 – Forgiveness Reset
A man went to confession and told the Priest he sinned last night. He went on to say it was a threesome with two gorgeous women, and they were going at it all night. The Priest said to the man, “Son, although you did a bad thing outside of marriage, you are forgiven. The man says, “I don’t want forgiveness.” So the Priest asks, “Then why are you telling me?” The man says, “I’m telling EVERYONE!”
Forgiveness is such an important topic The G.O.P felt the need to kick off Day 14 with a special joke. Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door to the hateful prison you put yourself into. What other people do to you is their business. How you react is your business. What I mean is that until you can hang loose (let go) of something that happened in the past, it will haunt you in the present and slowly eat you up inside.
My wife and I sometimes watch a TV show called American Greed. We are both fascinated by the way people behave when money, usually big money, is involved. We watch wives screw over the kind and loving husbands. We see husbands screw over the kind and loving wives. We watch episodes where people take advantage of parents, and children, and other relatives. We see employees embezzling millions from trusting bosses. People misappropriate monies from charities. We see insurance fraud, wire fraud, and counterfeiting. It always amazes me how self-centered and greedy people are.
Having owned four companies in my lifetime and worked a plethora of jobs since I was 15, I have seen some really far-out stuff! I have also been divorced twice. My second marriage cost me a pile of money. And I mean a pile!! I have had plenty of live-in arrangements, before those two failed marriages, and many times those got ugly in the end. I have also had plenty of friendships, business relationships, and business deals that went south. I am a pretty mellow dude, and because of that, I have been taken advantage of numerous times, sometimes costing me hundreds of thousands of dollars. Sometimes millions.
As I write this for you right now, I want you to know that everyone mentioned above has been forgiven, and I hope they have forgiven me for any time I was in the wrong. If I could not forgive them, my life now would be an angry, pessimistic, cynical mess. But it’s not, because of forgiveness. I got the idea of forgiveness from a dude named Jesus, who was the king of forgiving. It took me getting screwed multiple times to realize I was harboring animus feelings. Actually, I was beyond animus. I was developing actual HATRED towards certain people, I realized I had to let it all go or I would see declining health and sleepless nights. So one by one, I let it all go, which allowed me to hang loose. When you forgive someone for their actions, it is you that becomes free, not them. Always remember that.
Holding onto anything in the past is always a chain-link fence that keeps you away from the present moment.
Make a list of everyone you feel has wronged you. Make this a comprehensive list. Now review the list carefully, then briefly remember why you feel they have wronged you. This could be very painful for you. You may even cry or become angry. Then, one by one, completely forgive them. In your mind say, “I forgive you.” Let it go. All of it. Now hang loose and enjoy your new-found peace.
