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Dani Richards's avatar

As someone who has experienced abuse at the hands of a husband and the government, I've thought a lot about the topic of forgiveness. I don't want to type a long essay on this, here, but basically it's a process, and it can't be forced -- yet, at the same time, it can be desired and pushed forward.... just not more rapidly than people can do it. This depends on a number of factors.... none of which we have control over, because it involves more people than ourselves.

The spiritual forgiveness we do in our hearts, where we develop the capacity for compassion, is very helpful -- but it requires letting go of the wounds, and especially if we were harmed -- then it can be complicated by learning how to avoid such harm in the future. Not stay stuck in the same patterns that invite more of the same abuse.

One thing I've learned is that holding onto righteous anger and resentment will hold you back from experiencing joy and peace. But it is still possible to live a nice enough life, consumed with irritation towards others, never knowing the difference. It's just that -- once you are able to let go, then finally you "see" -- aha! But impossible to figure this out, while you are still mired in resentment which is totally justified. It even feels offensive to hear people say, "forgiveness is for YOU, not the other person." (which also isn't true, by the way -- it's for everyone). As though it were so easy to do.

Turning the other cheek doesn't mean, "here's another cheek for you; slap me again!" It can also mean turning your backside to them and walking away so they can't hurt you again. But there are other layers of meaning, such as finding a place of peace in the eye of the storm where you can dwell, so that you see the storm swirling around you, but you are not part of it (yet, still able to be present in reality).

Yes, I do want justice. But above all, I want truth. So sick of the lies, and this is not over yet. Because it is not over, forgiveness is premature for the perpetrators. For people who have woken up, who repent, then forgiveness is appropriate and helpful.

Matt Schweder's avatar

Very well written. This is a tough one for me. People can be as stupid as they want and put whatever toxic shit in their bodies they want but the second their stupidity infringes on my life, it becomes a big problem. The second they want to force me to put the same toxic shit in my body or in my kids’ bodies we have a bigger problem.

All I wanted was to be left alone but they took that away from me, too. I lost a coaching job I loved more than anything because I refused to mask or force them on players. I had been coaching over 20 years and was not just really good at it but it was the relationships I built through coaching that was the real value. All gone. Former players and families ghosted me. All over a lie. Family gone. Friends gone. How do you forgive people that took everything from you over an absurd lie, then bragged about how much smarter they were and hoped you’d die because you weren’t as smart?

I don’t know the answer. But I do know what will happen with the truth of what they did. I know because I lived it for 23 years since 9/11 already. Our own government did 9/11, just like they did covid. They blew up those buildings to start a trillions of dollars of profits “war on terror” and they continue to lie about it to this day. And STILL today you can’t hardly turn on the television or open a newspaper or read an editorial or listen to a blog without somebody from both sides talking about the ridiculous false narrative of 9/11. Hell, most of those who know covid is all lies somehow still believe the government on 9/11.

It’s like each of these global false flags caused a split from the natural timeline and we are living in alternate fake realities that we’re now stuck in.

That’s why I advocate for complete collapse and start over. I want those people who knowingly participated in this crime purged from my reality.

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