Hope, Love, & Forgiveness

Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime. Therefore, we are saved by hope. Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; Therefore we are saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone. Therefore we are saved by love. No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as from our own; Therefore we are saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.

Forgiveness is freeing up and putting to better use the energy once consumed by holding grudges, harboring resentments, and nursing unhealed wounds. It is rediscovering the strengths we always had and relocating our limitless capacity to understand and accept other people and ourselves. People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth.

~ Reinhold Niebuhr

Forgiveness

We are swimming with the snakes at the bottom of the well
So silent and peaceful in the darkness where we fell
But we are not snakes and what’s more we never will be
And if we stay swimming here forever we will never be free
I heard them ringing the bells in heaven and hell
They got a secret they’re getting ready to tell

It’s falling from the skies
It’s calling from the graves
Open your eyes boy, I think we are saved
Open your eyes boy, I think we are saved
Let’s take a walk on the bridge right over this mess
Don’t need to tell me a thing baby, we already confessed
And I raised my voice to the air
And we were blessed

It’s hard to give
It’s hard to get
But everybody needs a little forgiveness
We are calling for help tonight on a thin phone line
As usual we’re having ourselves one hell of a time
And the planes keep flying over our heads
No matter how loud we shout

Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey
And we keep wavin and wavin our arms in the air but we’re all tired out
I heard somebody say today’s the day
Big old hurricane she’s blowing our way
Knockin over the buildings
Killing all the lights

Open your eyes boy, we made it through the night
Open your eyes boy, we made it though the night
Let’s take a walk on the bridge right over this mess
Don’t need to tell me a thing baby, we already confessed
And I raise my voice to the air
And we were blessed

It’s hard to give
It’s hard to get
It’s hard to give
But still I think it’s the best bet
Hard to give
Never gonna forget
But everybody needs a little forgiveness
Everybody needs a little forgiveness

Patty Griffin

It’s the beginning of December. We are on the verge of completing a year. It is a time of stress, intense emotions, anxiety, fear, and doubt. It is a time of reflection. It is a time to shed old skins to prepare ourselves for the new. Letting go is complicated. Forgiveness is hard.  When looking at the process of Forgiveness, each of us could list off reasons as to why someone may not deserve to be forgiven. It’s not that you or I are wrong, it’s not that you or I are right. You have been hurt, as have they. The feelings that you feel are your right to experience. What makes Forgiveness so challenging is the lack of acknowledgement from both parties. It’s true giving space to a situation is a good thing to do. However, when someone constantly refuses to take responsibility for the part that they played in the scenario it is hard to leave emotion and the “making it personal” out of it. The good news is that we all have the ability to forgive ourselves as well as the individual who has hurt us. The truth is that there are many unresolved relationships whether it is a family member, a lover, or a friend. It, for the most part is due to lack of communication. With all of the resources that are available in today’s world, access to tools that help us better navigate who we are and what we present to the world; how does one adapt? There is unfortunately chaos all of the time due to poor communication skills.

If you are looking at how your year has gone, asking yourself if you did all of the things that you wanted to do? If you are asking why you can not seem to let go of a certain relationship and are losing sleep over it?  If you are wondering why you feel down all of the time? If you are questioning what you have done, where you will be going based on the choices you have made thus far – NOW is the time to figure out your process of Forgiveness and letting go. Each of us is different. What works for me isn’t necessarily going to work for you. Investigate. Where and how do you feel safe? This includes the people that you will/are working with, be it a therapist, yoga class, energy/body work, reading material, workshops, ect. Sometimes writing letters to people and tearing them up is extremely therapeutic. How do you unhook yourself? How do you get complete about your year? Investigate. Explore. Find out and be specific. I’m committed to doing something every day for my well-being. I’m on the road to getting complete with my year. Lets do it together.

Written By

Jessica Hinkson