“To err is human; to forgive, divine.” – Alexander Pope

“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” – Matthew 6:12

Truth to be told, I am able to forgive others easier for big offenses than small / petty offenses. Today was no exception, and while I won’t get into it, when the offense was committed I was pissed off…and for several hours afterwards I spent time ruminating on what was done and I was nowhere in a better state of mind.

The quote,“In fact, not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die” (Anne Lamott) came to mind when I was in the throes of self misery. It didn’t set me free, but it did aid in the slow and arduous task of pushing the toxic lack of forgiveness out of my system. It was no easy feat, but after some time spent in prayer and also napping I was able to free myself and forgive the other, but also the ability to forgive myself.

I am human (surprising insight, eh?) and subsequently I act in human ways and sometimes the worse part of me comes to light; I hold grudges, I don’t forgive, I cut people down verbally and sometimes I passively cut them down in my head…among other things. But despite being all things at sometime or another, I remember that I am human, and that it is part of the human experience to screw up time and time again. And yet as we struggle through our humanity, we are at times compelled to do more and do better next time around; sure, some of us are quick to toss in the towel to make changes in our lives, but theoretically we might be in a better place for having done so instead of simply letting the chips fall where they may.

Within the forgiveness of others we are able to find some forgiveness for ourselves for what was done and how for a brief eon in time we forgot our humanity and divinity in others inasmuch we forgot the humanity and divinity within us. I think that’s why it’s good to forgive others inasmuch as well as ourselves, because if we don’t do the latter there’s a possible possibility that we hold onto something that is better off letting go.

So free others, forgive, free yourself, forgive!

So with all that being said, forgiveness was my keyword on the 29th day of Ramadan. Thanks be to God, The Great Forgiver, who forgives us. May we learn to forgive others and forgive ourselves when the occasion call for it, and may we learn from what we’ve done to make better choices to, if at all possible, not commit those offenses again.

Salaam alaikum be yours now and always,

Nathanael