[ExI] jesus

[William Flynn Wallace]

I remember two things that made an impression on me when I was young and
went to church:  Jesus said to love one another as one loved oneself.  And
to forgive not 7 times but 70 times 7.

Freud said, and I have to agree:  loving someone else as much as one loves
oneself is impossible.  But as difficult as it is, we can't give up - we
have to try.  Seeing things from the other's viewpoint is part of this, I
think.  No man is an island.

As for forgiveness:  I suffered for many years with the anger caused by the
death of my parents, twenty years apart, caused by their doctors.

Finally, after years of violent fantasies, I did it - I forgave them, and I
profited greatly by it.  A 'load lifted from my mind' is trite but true.

So, just how hard is forgiveness for humans?  Hawaiians; offspring of
slaves; holders of feuds between Scottish clans going back hundreds of
years; slight insults followed by jihad - and, apparently, millions more.

Conclusion:  forgiveness is not impossible, but it is very, very difficult.
I peronsally found that to be true.  Perhaps our genes gave us some version
of 'a tooth for a tooth', and we have to work hard to overcome that.
Thousands of young black men give their lives for that every year.  Cannot
forgive slights and disses.  Payback. Who teaches them differently?  Not
the gang they are in.

I think forgiveness is for the strong, not the weak.  If someone gets away
with calling your mother a bitch, so what?  Let it go.  No harm done to you
or your mother.  Sticks and stones.  Doing more can get you in prison or
dead.  Is it worth it?

In so many cases, all of those people responsible for all the harm are
dead, and contrary to the Old Testament, no guilt passes down to their
offspring.

I wish we could wipe the slate - have a Let It Go day worldwide.  Everyone
would have a better life.  Maybe you too.

Dare I say that we should forgive people for being stupid, idiots, fools
and all the rest?  Jesus said:  Forgive them - they know not what they do.
Sounds good to me.

bill w
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