Oh, Not Again!

We all know someone who never misses an opportunity to retell the story of some past injustice, real or imagined. If they are close to us (family), we have heard the story so many times that we know it by heart, resisting the temptation (hopefully) to finish it for them. The tale explains why they haven’t or can’t and never will demonstrate over or put behind them some incident in their lives, finishing with almost a sense of triumph and justification in their voice with the retelling. Unfortunately many choose to hold on to past injustices and hurts to the point of shutting themselves off from the sunlight of the Spirit. If we are to be free we must set free all who have harmed us, leaving their final disposition to their demonstration before God, getting us out of the retribution business. To be clear: there are those who have committed grievous acts beyond the pale, they will reap as they have sown, but harboring hurt and hate in our heart stunts our growth and limits our demonstrations, forgiving does not mean forgetting. Our job, since embarking on Living on the Spiritual Basis, is to forgive so that we and the whole Human race improves, but it is does not mean we have to place ourselves in a position to be harmed again.

So we forgive all who have harmed us, setting them and ourselves free, but we don’t have to go to lunch with them. If for some reason they do appear in our life or they are someone whom because of family or some other reason we will have to face, ask in prayer to be shown the way of patience, kindness, tolerance and love toward this individual and to be kept safe and free of new resentments in their presence. By saluting the Presence of God within them and releasing them you will be amazed by the results. To state the Great Teaching once again: simple but not easy, a price has to be paid and that price is the surrendering of self.