This story of ours has movement...… there’s a Divine Flow we are living in that undergirds ALL of this...…… a forward momentum that’s going somewhere...… but where? Many of you know that I direct a grade school program with Christian roots known as SCY Express. Coming up in March, the students will be participating in an annual event called the GOODness Epidemic - an entire week of “infecting” others with GOODness and hoping its contagious enough to reach epidemic proportions. Yes, it’s pretty cool! To get them excited about it, I had them read a poem from the beginning of the Bible about this story we find ourselves in. What’s interesting is how often the word “GOOD” is used in the poem...…it’s used a lot and always referring to what God created. Then suddenly at the end of the poem, imagery is used to convey God stepping back and looking over everything created, ALL of it, and calling it not GOOD, but VERY GOOD. I love that poem because it conveys the idea that the individual parts are GOOD while the bigger picture of everything together, ALL OF IT, is VERY GOOD. In other words, completeness, wholeness, togetherness...…I think that’s the trajectory of the Divine Flow, and it’s not GOOD, it’s VERY GOOD.
Now imagine resentment, bitterness, revenge, grudges, anger and un-forgiveness...…all postures in life that seem entirely against the Divine Flow...…feelings and ways of life that are divisive creating distance and fragmentation. Forgiveness is to go with the flow. Here are my two favorite definitions of forgiveness: “To forgive is to set someone free and discover that person was you.” “To forgive is refusing to let someone rob you of your joy.” Now, keep those in mind and please go read this fabulous post by an MTL friend who still participates from a distance: http://elephantsblog.com/2016/02/24/this-is-a-gift/ I read that post at our last MTL gathering because it speaks directly to the truth of forgiveness...… how forgiveness has less to do with them and more to do with us...… how forgiveness isn’t based upon the actions of another and if they are deserving... how forgiveness is about us being set free to joy. Someone once said that to not forgive is like drinking rat poison, then waiting for the rat to die. Forgiveness is more about the hurt that we hold and cling to...… the corrosive pain we carry in our heads and hearts...… the wasted focus and energy that robs us of our joy. And the GOOD news is that we can choose to let all of that stuff go. IT’s NOT about… condoning anything done to you, letting anyone off the hook, putting things back to the way they were before, or allowing yourself to be hurt again. IT IS about... naming it and calling it what it was, setting healthy boundaries, taking the next step forward, letting go of that pain and hurt, freeing up space in your head and heart. UN-Forgiveness kills us. Forgiveness sets us free...… and it can be a painful, difficult and long process. If you have time, check out the last MTL talk about forgiveness titled “Letting Shit Go.” https://soundcloud.com/filgally/mtl-forgiveness-letting-shit Until next time, May you feel the Divine Flow pulling you forward into wholeness and healing, and may you not resist it. May you discover your next step forward into forgiveness, no matter how small, and may you take it. And in doing so, may you set yourself free, let whatever you need to go, and embrace the joy of going with the flow. These posts offer further reflection on the topics we tackle during MTL nights. This particular one compliments a talk on forgiveness titled “Letting Shit Go.”
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These posts offer further reflection on topics we tackle during MTL nights.
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