Forgive but don’t forget
There is a difference between forgiveness and forgetting. One is a powerful tool that will set you free and open your future. The other is a truck that will blindside you if you do not pay attention.
In my journey I have gotten the two mixed up far too often. I forget what happened but refuse to forgive those involved, including and probably most often myself. Looking back I have noticed that it does nothing for me, I forget the cause of the problem and what should have been done and just focus on the people, looking for what they did wrong. When in reality I should forgive those involved, because 99% of the time they did it with their best intentions, and I am willing to be trick by the 1% to see the awesome power the 99% has.
When I forget what happened, I forget to learn the lesson that came along with it, most likely the reason why it happened. The lesson sits on the side of the road as I run pass it chasing those who “did wrong”. As Pat Hopkins of Imaginasium writes in a blog post “It’s about the Experience, Stupid”, I have far to often forgotten to realize the awesome potential the experience will teach me if I take a minute to learn from it and remember it.
A failure is not the end; it is a fork in the road. It is a point in time where you can realign, regroup and look at what is a head.
I will start to look for the opportunity, experience and lesson from each step in my life. I will start to forgive and love people for who they are and the talent they bring, I will be set free. I will not forget the lesson I have been taught making them propel me forward, not hold me back.
Here is to forgiveness, an awesome virtue that far too often I have forgotten. Let’s remember is all about the experience.
