I read these heart-wrenching stories of Auschwitz survivors and families of victims who spent many decades attempting, and finally succeeding in forgiving Hitler and all the Nazis. How? Did time reduce the devastating impact of their inhuman crimes? No. They forgave because blame and hatred are heavy burdens to lug around in life. The energy of victimhood prevents us from living our best lives. Now, think hard about somebody who did something completely brutal to you. Now think about forgiveness.
Ironically, a phenomenon that helps in forgiveness is one that is counted as one of the seven deadly sins: anger. It is important to feel the anger, the rage, the unfairness, and the disappointment. Fully immerse yourself in these feelings. Shine the light of consciousness around it. And a strange thing starts happening. The more we feel the awareness, the smaller the feeling of unfairness starts to seem. And soon that consuming, debilitating feeling has subsided into something akin to understanding or even compassion. Somewhere here, we stumble into forgiveness.
The earth journey is a difficult one. It is said that life on other planets is easier. But it is in overcoming these challenges— the ones that turn us inside out with pain, and bewilderment— that the soul is here for. For learning these really difficult lessons like forgiveness, letting go, conquering addictions, etc. Leave the bland stuff to the freshers. Come on, old souls, get your boxing gloves out!
Anupamaa Dayal
This fashion designer is about happy clothes and happy homes for happy women.