The power of forgiveness examined

By: Christina Borger
Posted In: Opinion

The tears that pour from our eyes, fall down our cheeks, and land in our laps are the tears of anguish. The struggles we face, though some of them preventable, come as the inexplicable result of something great, yet tragic within our lives. Birds leaving the nest, never to return to their mothers; loved ones leaving our sides all too soon; the mystery of illness that plagues our bodies and baffles our minds – all share the same sorrow and longing for a second chance.

Out of each longing, comes a powerful burst of love. That love can be a mother’s love for her children, the strong connection between husbands and wives and boyfriends and girlfriends, the love for oneself and the love they share with all the lives they have touched. The love that was there before nature took its course reawakens with more presence than it ever seemed to have.

The desperate wish to change the past comes over oneself as they refuse to accept the fate of the phantom love. Acceptance of the truth never comes quick. Looking back over the timeless memories and growth and love creates new complexity.

Letting go is seemingly more impossible now that nostalgia has revived and in some cases recreated the greatest moments of our lives.To leave those memories in the old scrapbook, to forget the miracle of life in the light of seeing your young find their way, to accept the fate for what it is, can be the hardest step.

To take that leap, one must be comforted by the will and the empowerment within themselves that the future beholds something equally as great.

Once that notion is achieved, contentment overcomes the self. Luck may bring redemption, allowing for a second chance while the less fortunate must succumb to hands of fate.

The rationale for such occurrences remains as mysterious as the forces of nature.

Acceptance and forgiveness are aspects of life that go hand in hand. One cannot exist without the other.

To accept one’s fate is to forgive one for providing the fate for another. The acceptance segues into a stronger embodied self.

The strength to view the past as a period of growth accompanied by the will to look to the future free of expectation is the result of forgiveness. Forgive and forget; live and let live; and never give up on what you believe in – for there is an open gate on the other side.