Tuesday, November 20, 2007

"...I do not want to be devoured"

From Mary F. Mullane of Benton, Arkansas, in the "Correspondence" section of the September issue of The Sun...

To me forgiveness is about letting go of anger and resentment. Like everyone, I have felt these strong emotions, but I've learned to let them go, because they eat away at me, and I do not want to be devoured. Life is too short and too full of better things. When we indulge our anger and let it dominate our thoughts, we inflict more harm on ourselves than on anyone else.

I believe that wholeheartedly. My question is...How do you learn to do that? Where do you begin? I've heard a lot of folks like Ms. Mullane express that same sentiment. But I still haven't seen examples of how people can transform themselves from the type of person for whom anger and resentment seem almost a basic component of character into beings who can sincerely live this philosophy.

Anyone...?

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3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm not sure if one can learn to forgive, or at least, I would have no idea how to teach it. Personally, I don't want to waste energy on being angry. And I agree with Val, I don't want to give someone else the power to control me and my emotions. Cuz I am a control freak.

2:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You asked:
“How do you learn to do that? Where do you begin?”

I can only assume you are asking for yourself since one of the tags is ‘self-involvement.’

I find that, for myself, as long as I remember two things...

The only thing I have any control over in the world is my own behavior

and

I cannot go through my life expecting people to react/behave/feel the way I want them to, nor trying to control those things in others

... it’s pretty easy to go through life not being angry or resentful.

If you do indeed have an overall angry, baleful view of of most people, if everywhere you go you find that you tend to critique the choices, the attitude, the thoughts, the actions, the past, and even the present of others, and if you do really choose to live being angry, judgmental, resentful and unflinching in your forgiveness, if your head is filled night and day with such thoughts, I wouldn’t be surprised if some people sense this about you.

That may be why you can’t seem to encounter or build relationships with those that have transformed “themselves from the type of person for whom anger and resentment seem almost a basic component of character into beings who can sincerely live this philosophy”?

Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.

8:11 AM  
Blogger rama666 said...

I don't like anonymous comments. Which I don't say to reinforce anything in particular. I'm just saying...if you have a comment to make, nut up and reveal who you are. We're all friends here. For the most part.

That said, while "anonymous" overstated a few things and made some presumptuous estimations about me, he or she does have some really good, valid points...so I couldn't NOT publish them. But I do wish you'd reveal yourself just in case you'd like a discussion to ensue. Because I don't enjoy having personal and/or philosophical conversations with folks who don't want to divulge their own identities.

At any rate, thanks for chiming in.

6:57 PM  

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