Forgiveness (The Open Padlock)

Imagine you are carrying a heavy backpack full of itchy prickly rocks everywhere you go. When you forgive, it is like finally setting that heavy bag down and walking away into the sunshine. It does not mean what happened was okay, but it means you are choosing to be happy instead of staying mad. You stop letting the mean thing boss you around or make your tummy hurt. By letting go, you give yourself a giant hug and decide to start a brand new clean page in your book.

You stop letting the mean thing boss you around. Forgiveness is not a gift to the person who hurt you. Forgiveness is a gift to yourself. The grudge is a chain. You think you are punishing them by holding it. But look down. The chain is attached to your ankle. Not theirs. They left the room years ago. You are still standing there holding a chain connected to nothing. Forgiveness is not saying what happened was okay. Forgiveness is saying what happened is no longer allowed to live in my body rent-free. Drop the rocks. Your back will thank you.

Forgiveness as psychological and ontological reset — decoupling the subject from the causal chain of past grievances. The only way to break the cycle of karma or eye-for-an-eye reciprocity that leads to systemic entropy. The grudge is a chain attached to your ankle. Not theirs. Drop the rocks.

SOUND: The long fading ring of a silver bell: the sound of something finishing so something new can start.

SMELL: Petrichor — rain hitting dry pavement: the scent of the sky washing the ground clean.

TASTE: Cool water after being very thirsty: relief that enters through the throat.

TOUCH: Removing a tight pair of shoes: the body releasing a pressure it forgot it was carrying.

SIGHT: A white bird flying against a blue sky: freedom that looks exactly like letting go.

BODY: Your shoulders dropping three inches as you exhale: the body putting down what the mind finally released.

Music: Grace by Lewis Capaldi

Music: Sometime Around Midnight by The Airborne Toxic Event

Music: Butterfly Kisses by Bob Carlisle

Music: Geometry of Love by Jean-Michel Jarre

Music: Let It Be by The Beatles

Part of Salvation & Redemption — RELIGION — Education Revelation