Off-Topic Tuesday: Forgiveness and Nest Update

For me the process of growing hair symbolizes so many things.  Among them is the passage of time, and hopefully along with that, more wisdom.

In thinking about the wisdom that I have now compared with when I was young, I think of some of the very important things I've learned along the way.  I also realize how far I've yet to go.

Forgiveness has been a huge theme in my life.  I never really understood until my late 30s just how important real heartfelt forgiveness can be for the mind, body and spirit.

Holding on to anger simply makes one bitter and brittle.  Learning to let go is freedom.

So many people are or have been stingy with forgiveness, as we somehow believe that in the act of forgiving, we are condoning wrongs.  

That's simply not the case.  One doesn't have to condone or approve of someone's actions in order to forgive.  Forgiveness simply means letting go of anger and resentment.  How freeing that is!


Oddly, or perhaps not, I can forgive others more easily than I can myself.  Yet self-forgiveness is vital.

I have a long way to go.  I was just saying to a friend today that just when I think I have this forgiveness thing down, something will happen that will set me back, and it's as though I have to relearn how to forgive all over again.  I wonder if one ever gets to a place where it's not such hard work?  I don't know, but I'll never stop trying to find out.

I'm going to share some of my favourite quotes on forgiveness, from people from varying political and religious backgrounds.  They so often all boil down to the same thing.

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."-- Buddha

"If we really want to love we must learn how to forgive"--Mother Teresa

"Anger dwells only in the bosom of fools."
- Albert Einstein

"Forgiveness
Is the mightiest sword
Forgiveness of those you fear
Is the highest reward
When they bruise you with words
When they make you feel small
When it's hardest to take 
You must do nothing at all..."--Charlotte Bronte (Jane Eyre) 

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." --M. Ghandi

"To be wronged is nothing, unless you continue to remember it."--Confucius

"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."--The Bible, Matthew (ch. VI, v. 14-15)

 “We achieve inner health only through forgiveness--the forgiveness not only of others but also of ourselves”--Joshua Loth Liebman

"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much."
— Oscar Wilde

Okay, the Oscar Wilde quote just makes me laugh, however true it might be.


A quick update on the robin's nest on my porch.  The robins were well into building the nest, and had all of their materials laid out below the porch lamp, but they abandoned it before completion.  Perhaps they had a fright from a predator.  I hope they've found a safer haven for their nest.