Forgiveness and Healing
Meditations on becoming whole again.
The Buddha said that to live is to suffer.
The Christ said that it rains on even the righteous.
No matter how hard we try to live a life beyond troubles, we will all inevitably face struggles — whether they be self inflicted or committed by others. It is in how we respond to these struggles in which defines our being.
This brief moment we have, you & I, on our rocky home hurtling around the sun is a cosmic bath of sorts — a purification rite. We are rejuvenating our basic essence: our soul. It is no wonder why water has such an important metaphorical meaning throughout world religions, especially in the Christian practice of baptism and swimming in the Ganges for Hindus.
If one thing is certain about suffering, it is this: we can only control how we react to our injuries.
If a cup of coffee split onto your uniform prior to work, how would you react?
What if you missed your train?
What if your car broke down?
Would you get angry and scream?
Would you cry out of desperation?
Would you hurt yourself?
…or would you laugh?
To laugh into the void is an act of resilience.
You are still alive — with all of your colors.
When we hold onto the past we prevent life in the present from happening — like shielding a flower from the sun — we wither. We craft stumbling blocks from the resonance of negativity, the cancer of sin. Only pure love can overcome the scars which plague our existence.
Among the most powerful expressions of pure love is forgiveness.
The most powerful symbol of forgiveness is the cross. When we focus on the significance of that symbol, its message awakens the deepest part of our being. It is no coincidence that the cross has transformed the world. Jesus of Nazareth, when sentenced to death, didn’t go to the cross a defeated man. Jesus chose to forgive. To dwell in a mental prison would be a penalty so much worse than death… it would be hell. Jesus was perfect, he transcended ego and saw beyond his temporal incarnation. His perspective was eternal and not of instant gratification. He did not identify with his victimhood. His purpose was greater than these passing events… and so is ours.
Our past trauma & transgressions are not a part of our being. Rather, they are parasites of darkness which exist by feeding off of our light. To identify with our trauma & transgressions is to live a lie — which is not life at all. The power of forgiveness is the only force that can eliminate these parasites. Jesus did not come to make peace with evil — he came to destroy it. We must destroy the evil that lives within us.
It is brave to forgive.
Forgiveness is a form of victorious surrender.
How can it be victorious to surrender?
We do not seek to surrender to the evil which plagues us. We seek to surrender to the cleansing waters of the river of righteousness which flow from the absolute. If we do not float, we will sink.
Alcoholics Anonymous was established in 1935 to help those addicted to alcohol to overcome their affliction — not to be cured, but to heal. AA was built on the Twelve-step program, the foundational creed of the organization. The Twelve-step program is a demonstration of the restorative powers of surrender. The program is built on the notion that individuals cannot overcome their addiction alone. Only by surrendering to a higher-power can one begin to heal.
What is particularly fascinating is that even Atheists and Agnostics are positively effected by this approach.
The Serenity Prayer is another practice some in Alcoholics Anonymous utilize as a healing method. Composed by Reinhold Niebuhr, a 20th century Christian theologian, it is a humble petition to God to provide mental clarity in a sea of confusion.
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
When we go through life alone, life becomes dreadful and meaningless. When we realize that we are never alone and are sustained by the source & animator: God, life becomes a joyful celebration — even in the midst of worldly demise.
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of restoring broken pottery. In the Western World, broken pottery is considered useless and disposed of. For centuries, to dispose of broken pottery in Japan would have been considered wasteful. The fragments were instead brought to Japanese artisans who could see past the circumstance of the piece. Carefully, they would take precious metals, in many cases gold, and apply them as a conjoining agent to mend the pottery whole again.
We are all like broken pottery.
The world sees us as disposable, but God sees our potential… and his holy Kintsugi is forgiveness. To realize forgiveness is to heal. Our mending agent is the intoxicating light of love.
The story of Emperor Ashoka is a powerful testimony of forgiveness.
Ashoka was the powerful ruler of the Maurya Empire, which governed most of what is today India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh in the 200s BCE. In the eighth year of his reign, Ashoka instigated a war of conquest against a neighboring region. The war was brutal. The bloodshed was unfathomable. In the end, over a hundred thousand people were slaughtered. Ashoka saw the devastation the war had produced and was shaken to his core. He knew that he was directly responsible for the destruction. He did not take pleasure in his victory, rather he felt the deep pain of regret. Recognizing his transgression, Ashoka turned away from conquest and embraced the teachings of Buddhism.
Although Ashoka could never receive forgiveness from each life he extinguished, by recognizing his misdeeds and changing his path he was mended — holy Kintsugi.
What’s done is done. It can never be taken back. Yet, the lingering waves may be settled, like Christ calmed the sea… and that’s all that matters.
Forgiveness looks like the Prodigal Son who left home with his father’s money and returned broke, hungry, and ashamed. His father welcomed him back with warmness, open arms, and a feast.
To forgive is to love and to be forgiven is to live a life of compassion.
We are never beyond redemption.
While we can never erase the past — we can overcome it… with grace.
