Forgiveness

An old man once had an argument with his only son. He tried to apologize many times but the young man would not listen. The father never gave up because he loved his son with all his heart, but the son would not give in, because he was too blinded by his pride.

Years passed and as the man lay in his deathbed, he made a final attempt to reconcile with his son, but still he would not listen and so the father died with a heart full of grief.

During this time the son too had a child who had now grown up into a young adult. To this child he never mentioned his father and when the young man asked about his grandfather he would tell him never to mention him again.

One day, they too were both involved in a hot argument and his son fled away as his father did many years before. The man was extremely saddened and this time he had no pride, but felt completely isolated.

He was afraid that he had lost his son forever and for the first time after many years he turned to God in prayer. At that moment something filled his heart and he realized how his father must have felt many years back.

He remembered how he had hurt his old man and only at that point he realized the extent of the hurt he had caused. The more he thought the more he understood how unjust he was with his old father, the man who gave him everything through out his life.

With these sad thoughts he felt asleep on the couch. Next morning when he opened his eyes he found himself tucked in his bed and in front of him stood his son. The man could not believe his eyes, and the two hugged each other while they cried together.

After lots of apologies, the young man explained that up till the day before he felt lots of hatred towards his father, but during the night he had a strange dream that touched his heart. He dreamt that an old man was hugging him, and as he embraced him, all his hatred turned into love. The old man then told him to forgive and forget. He then explained that as soon as he woke up he came running to his father's house.

At this point the man told his son that on the same night, he learnt an important lesson, and how he had let his father down when he was younger. The son wanted to know more about his grandfather who he never met or even saw, and this was the most appropriate time.

The man went to an old bookshelf and fetched an old family album. He then picked an old photograph of his father and when the son saw it, he remained dumb-founded. The son then explained that the man in the photograph was the same one he dreamt of the night before.


  -- Author Unknown  

Anger - Forgiving

If you find yourself getting "stuck" in anger and having a hard time forgiving yourself or someone else, try the following tips:

• Speak with people who have forgiven others and think about what you can learn from their stories.
• Read books about forgiveness to learn how others have forgiven in difficult situations.
• Recall times that you have hurt others and needed forgiveness.
• Write a forgiveness letter to yourself or to someone you need to forgive.
• Cultivate an attitude of gratitude for your life.
• Ask yourself, "Who would I be without this resentment or anger?"
• Start small. When you practice forgiving the little annoyances of life, you strengthen your forgiveness muscles for the more difficult times.

-- Cynthia Kersey, excerpted from the book 'Unstoppable'



  

Lesson in Forgiveness

There was a man who slandered a friend, all because of the envy he had on him for the success he had reached.

Time after, he repented of the ruin he brought with his calumnies on that friend, and he visited a highly wise man to whom he said, "I want to fix all the evil I did to my friend, how can I do it?"

To what the man responded, "Take a sack full of small and light feathers and get one loose on any place you go."

The man very happy for that so easy thing took the sack full of feathers and at the end of one day he had turned them all loose.

He returned to the sage and said, "I have finished."

To this the sage answered," That is the easiest part. Now you have to go back to fill the sack with the same feathers you've got lost. Go the road and search for them."

The man felt very sad since he knew what that meant and could not find almost anything. When returning, the wise man said to him, "As you could not get again the feathers which flew with the wind, likewise the evil you did flew from mouth to mouth and the damage is already done."

So forgiveness is the only thing that will make your sack filled with feathers again!

-- Author Unknown

No Pointing Fingers

A man asked his father-in-law, "Many people praised you for a successful marriage. Could you please share with me your secret?"

The father-in-law answered in a smile, "Never criticize your wife for her shortcomings or when she does something wrong. Always bear in mind that because of her shortcomings and weaknesses, she could not find a better husband than you."

We all look forward to being loved and respected. Many people are afraid of losing face. Generally, when a person makes a mistake, he would look around to find a scapegoat to point the finger at. This is the start of a war. We should always remember that when we point one finger at a person, the other four fingers are pointing at ourselves.

If we forgive the others, others will ignore our mistake too.

-- Author Unknown

How Heavy Is Your Bag

One of my teachers had each one of us bring a clear plastic bag and a sack of potatoes. For every person we’d refuse to forgive in our life, we were told to choose a potato, write on it the name and date, and put it in the plastic bag. Some of our bags, as you can imagine, were quite heavy.

We were then told to carry this bag with us everywhere for one week, putting it beside our bed at night, on the car seat when driving, next to our desk at work.

The hassle of lugging this around with us made it clear what a weight we were carrying spiritually, and how we had to pay attention to it all the time to not forget, and keep leaving it in embarrassing places.

Naturally, the condition of the potatoes deteriorated to a nasty slime. This was a great metaphor for the price we pay for keeping our pain and heavy negativity!

Too often we think of forgiveness as a gift to the other person, and while that’s true, it clearly is also a gift for ourselves!

So the next time you decide you can’t forgive someone, ask yourself ... Isn’t MY bag heavy enough?

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him.

-- Author Unknown