Forgiveness

To forgive means to grant pardon for an offense or a debt. It could also mean to cease feeling resentment against something or someone. It should never be confused with the word forget. A lot of people do. The saying "Forgive and Forget" is not really accurate. One can forgive but can they truly forget? Probably not especially if it was something really traumatic for the offended party. One should never forget. Forgetting opens up for the same situation to happen again. This would turn into a vicious cycle.

Forgiveness is a gift one doesn't give to anyone but to oneself. It is not an emotion but a choice. Dwelling on an issue causes resentment and resentment begets hate. Having all these negative emotions is not healthy for anyone especially to oneself. One goes down the road of loathing and becomes counter-productive.

By forgiving, one makes the conscious decision of letting go of the resentment, hate and all the other negative emotions in oneself. The offending situation or person may not deserve it but as discussed, it is a gift one give to oneself. So for those who are in this situation, one may want to think about this. The heaviness one feels being lifted off one's chest is worth it. Or just the peace of mind that follows.

Remember.. to err is human, to forgive divine.

To forget is just plain foolish.

Risk

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk being called sentimental.

To reach out to another is to risk involvement.

To expose your feelings is to risk showing your true self.

To place your ideas and dreams before the crowd is to risk being called naive.

To love is to risk not being loved in return.

To live is to risk dying.

To hope is to risk despair, and to try is to risk failure. But risks must be taken, because the greatest risk in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live. Chained by his certitudes, he's a slave, he's forfeited his freedom. Only the person who risks is truly free."

- Leo Buscaglia


I found this while trolling the web and thought I'd share this with everyone who stumbles in my little space in the net.

The Serenity Prayer

"God... Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference."

That's how the prayer goes and a lot of variations has been added to it as time goes by. Some of the variations were made to sound funny just to take the seriousness of the prayer but if you read through the verse, the whole thing really is very potent. The prayer is about surrendering to a higher power that life can be overwhelming, asking for help when everything seems lost and knowing when to ask for what.

I know I must have read this prayer a million times but I still feel in awe whenever I do. It humbles me each time I come across this prayer. It makes me realize just how vulnerable I am and that I am only human - prone to errors just like the rest of humanity. And with this knowledge, I understood the trials and pain I encounter as I go on living. That they exist to remind me that I am just like everyone else - a child of the universe.

And so with that, I want to add my variation to this prayer...

"To live one day at a time... To enjoy one moment at a time..
To accept hardships as part of the way to peace and happiness..
To trust that I may be reasonably happy in this life and the next.."

Hope

Hope is a belief that a positive outcome will come out of a situation or a circumstance. The situation can be an ordinary day to day event or it could be something major. Most often than not, people hope. Or rather people have hope. It's the saving grace that keeps people moving forward to certain circumstances in their lives no matter how traumatic or painful it may seem.

When a person say its hopeless, there is a sign of surrender on their part. But the fact that they still move about in their lives mean that there's a glimmer of hope somewhere deep in their hearts. They won't admit it and may even fail to recognize it, but it is there. It needs a little coaxing to come out and be fully recognized. As long as one breathes, there is hope. No matter what the circumstance is.

Living is hoping.

Love Island

I was trolling the web the last couple of nights and saw this nice writeup which I'd like to share to everyone. The author of course is unknown but nevertheless, the message hits home.

Love Island
============

Once upon a time there was an island where all the feelings lived; happiness, sadness, knowledge, and all the others, including love.

One day it was announced to all of the feelings that the island was going to sink to the bottom of the ocean. So all the feelings prepared their boats to leave.

Love was the only one that stayed. She wanted to preserve the island paradise until the last possible moment.

When the island was almost totally under, Love decided it was time to leave. She began looking for someone to ask for help. Just then Richness was passing by in a grand boat. Love asked, "Richness, Can I come with you on your boat?" Richness answered, " I'm sorry, but there is a lot of silver and gold on my boat and there would be no room for you anywhere."

Then Love decided to ask Vanity for help who was passing in a beautiful vessel. Love cried out, "Vanity, help me please." "I can't help you", Vanity said, "You are all wet and will damage my beautiful boat."

Next, Love saw Sadness passing by. Love said, "Sadness, please let me go with you." Sadness answered, "Love, I'm sorry, but, I just need to be alone now."

Then, Love saw Happiness. Love cried out, " Happiness, please take me with you." But Happiness was so overjoyed that he didn't hear Love calling to him.

Love began to cry. Then, she heard a voice say, "Come Love, I will take you with me." It was an elder.

Love felt so blessed and overjoyed that she forgot to ask the elder his name.

When they arrived on land the elder went on his way.Love realized how much she owed the elder.

Love then found Knowledge and asked, "Who was it that helped me?"

"It was Time", Knowledge answered. "But why did Time help me when no one else would?", Love asked.

Knowledge smiled and with deep wisdom and sincerity, answered, "Because only Time is capable of understanding how great Love is."

Author Unknown