FORGIVENESS

A verse from the Travelin' Wilbury's hit single titled "The End of The Line" goes like this.
"Well, its alright even if you're old and gray-and its alright, you  still got something to say- and its alright remember to live and let live- and its alright the best you can do is forgive"
I agree!Forgiveness is just so precious if we only realize the power it holds for us.There is no way any of us can go through this entire life without being abused,cheated,or treated in any other negative way by someone else. Believe me, that is inevitable! But the key to having been a victim at some point will enable us to learn the power of forgiveness.Most of the "little" hurts we endure from the actions of others are fairly easy to forgive while the "larger" hurts and injustices, seem to take longer to forgive. And Im sure there are those who have yet to truly forgiven all of their enemies.I know from experience that we can at any time be blindsided by someone we love and trust, or by a complete stranger.Maybe an ex lover? Or maybe the person who sold you a "lemon" of a car etc etc.Again, from my personal experience I know its very possible to think you have forgiven while in reality you have only buried the injustice deep down into the subconscious mind where it doesn't bother you(at least on a conscious basis). And believe me, if that particular hurt or injustice hasnt been totally forgiven it will at some point in your life raise its ugly head and you will again be faced with dealing with it.When I talk about forgiveness, Im not saying that one should forget the injustice or to allow the perpertrator to do it to you again. In my own circumstances when I feel I have been mistreated by someone I try my best to forgive but I keep close to my conscious mind the facts so that I can better protect myself from further hurt.The biggest thing about forgiveness as I see it, is that if we carry around inside of us any old hurts or grudges we are then only hurting ourselves. As an example say someone you trusted to do the "right" thing by you instead chose to take your trust and use it against you to get something they wanted from you.Now, after the fact, you feel angry and rightfully upset.But due to circumstances there is no way to "avenge' the wrong so you instead just allow that "hurt" to become a part of your every waking moment. You want the one who has offended you to have to pay for their actions somehow.And yet, you see that person going on about their lives all smiles and seeming doing really well in life in general.And as you see this happening the anger and resentment you feel for this person continues to eat at you so much you are never fully happy. After some time the pain you feel has subsided but that is because you have buried it once again in the subconscious mind.But believe me, any unforgiveness you are withholding is slowly eating away at your inner peace day by day.The offender has gone on with their life and probably completely forgotten the way they hurt you so they are not suffering in any way. So if that is the case, then you tell me, who is winning? The one who caused the hurt? or the one who has been abused? I think you can see what I mean.As long as we carry a grudge against another soul, we are not hurting them, we are only hurting ourselves by not living with our "inner peace" intact. I also know that forgiveness can be very hard to do. Some folks can hurt us to our very core, and again from personal experience I know how hard true forgiveness can be. But it is an absolute must that we forgive if we are to truly live a life of peace. The author Norman Cousins once stated:"Life is an adventure in forgiveness." My hope for all of you is that you have totally forgiven all for whatever acts they have done, in the best way you know how. For if you have done that, then you should be able to live  your life with  a lot greater inner peace of mind than say those who refuse to forgive.Take care my friends and try to truly enjoy this one eternal moment you now find yourself immersed in. And if at all possible take a moment to appreciate all the beauty around you and within you and try and do a little something nice for someone right now, right here. My wish for all of you is the very best of everything now and always.