The Nature of Forgiveness

Everything that I could ever say about you,

Or understand about you, is true of me –

Of some previous, or present, or potential part of me.

I must forgive you, or I have not forgiven myself

For being who I am,

In every previous, or present, or potential aspect.

If I judge you, I judge the corresponding part of my own self.

If I condemn you, I am myself condemned.

If I lash out at you, I will, myself, experience pain.

If I turn away from you, I become blind to myself,

And I am in danger of being hypocritical.

So I must turn toward you; this aspect of myself.

If I am in pain, I must ask myself

"What have I not forgiven?"

If I am feeling self-righteous, I must ask myself

"What am I being blind to? What am I not seeing in myself?"

I need YOU, in order to learn about myself;

To discover all the potential aspects of my being,

And through forgiveness,

I practise the love of Being.

I need you in order to learn new ways

To respond to every aspect of Being;

Ways which are in harmony with the Great Principle of Life.

I cannot define this Principle,

But I can intuitively experience it as a state of bliss;

As the Peace that passes Understanding;

As being "at-one-with" the world;

As a state of joy, of love:

The inner core reality which transcends physical matter

And makes material concerns seem trivial and "unreal".

This does not mean I will always agree with you,

Or allow you to do whatever you want with respect to me,

Or even approve of everything you do.

It simply means I will respond at any time

Not to "what is good for you,"

Not to "what is best for me,"

But to what is going to bring us both

Into harmony with the Great Principle, the "One",

And so, ultimately, with each other.

I am prepared to do

Whatever it is that I ask of you,

With full knowledge

That whatever it is I have recognized in you

Is also a part of myself.

Through coming to know this part of myself,

And knowing what I can do

To bring about a more harmonious perspective,

I can offer myself as a guide to you;

But just as I was blind

And in my own time, by my own effort learned to see,

I respect that it will be

In your own time, by your own effort, that you

In your turn, will also learn.

This is the nature of forgiveness.