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If you were to make a list of everything you desire in life, a single goal would reveal itself as a common constant—the achievement of inner peace. It all comes down to being comfortable with and cherishing just the way you are—your humanness.
Greetings from My Mountain Cabin,
Often matters of the world tend to demand your attention in such a manner that your true being—your spiritual nature—becomes indistinct. There are bills to pay, appointments to keep, mouths to feed, bodies to be clothed, wounds to be mended, and relationships to be nurtured. Yet, make no mistake about it; as C.S. Lewis once said, "You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body."
In other words, you may be in this world, but at the core of your being, you are not of this world.
"We observe that the world is acting out its confusion of change. We can choose to energize an image of peace." ~Gloria D. Karpinski
Inner peace is a state achieved when human consciousness is rooted in a deep-seated sense of satisfaction, such as that resulting from being of service to others, relating to and embracing a (spiritual) reality larger than self, and experiencing loving relationships.
Inner peace is the outcome when forgiveness is practiced.
"Forgiveness" is a word often used to suggest making a choice not to blame another because of a perceived hurt, slight or injustice. "Charlie, you have said some pretty hurtful things to me, but since I believe in 'turning the other cheek' I will not blame you for your callousness."
Actually, forgiveness can be interpreted in a context that totally eliminates the notion of blame.
As the word "foreground" suggests, the people, places and things that you encounter during your day can be considered to exist right in front of you—"in the fore." For a person to "fore-give," s/he must "give the fore," that is look beyond what is immediately at hand toward that which lies beyond.
No one ever does anything TO you. You do not have an invisible umbilical cord that stretches from the psyche of another to your own; such that s/he is capable of permeating emotions from her/his mind/body into yours.
Even as the life journey of another unfolds, your own experience is unique to yourself. Your reaction to interpersonal contact is not determined by others; it is your stuff.
Therefore, blame is a meaningless concept. For you to assume you comprehend the reality perceived or true motives held by another means you are not "giving the fore."
Especially forgive those whom you love, most importantly your parents, who were probably playing out a role as the best mother and father they knew how to be.
You will be taking an important first step toward liberating yourself from the muck and mire of the past and achieving inner peace.
Be well, do good work, keep in touch,
Ed
p.s. I am fixin' to (as they say in these mountains) deliver a keynote address and participate in a book signing next week at the Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC. Perhaps I'll see you there.
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