A wise saying, originating somewhere in the Arab world, goes as follows: "Carve in stone the good others have done unto you and use your finger to trace on water the bad."
How many of us marinate in anger over a wrong done to us in childhood by a parent, forgetting that they clothed, fed, and protected us when we were helpless babes? Or broken off a friendship based on a snide or judgmental comment, forgetting about all the shared life experiences? Worse yet, a parent disenfranchising a child or vice versa, based on unexpressed feelings and miscommunication?
Most of us have experienced some version of the above. If we have a choice to remember the good and let go of the bad - forgive and forget (or at least forgive and let go of obsessional thinking about the past), perhaps our stories will have happier endings.
How many of us marinate in anger over a wrong done to us in childhood by a parent, forgetting that they clothed, fed, and protected us when we were helpless babes? Or broken off a friendship based on a snide or judgmental comment, forgetting about all the shared life experiences? Worse yet, a parent disenfranchising a child or vice versa, based on unexpressed feelings and miscommunication?
Most of us have experienced some version of the above. If we have a choice to remember the good and let go of the bad - forgive and forget (or at least forgive and let go of obsessional thinking about the past), perhaps our stories will have happier endings.
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