Forgiveness and Letting Go

"Resentment is like drinking poison and hoping the other person will die." 

- This quote and iterations of it is attributed to multiple people, including Nelson Mandela, Carrie Fisher, and Buddhist philosophy

Jack Kornfield shares an image of the lifelong practice of forgiveness: imagine that a bird flies by a pile of rocks with a silk scarf every time you practice forgiveness. You can practice over and over and over and eventually, the bird with the scarf wears down the rock. And when that rock is finally worn down, you see that the rock lays on top of a pile of more rocks, with more work of forgiveness waiting for you. This is not meant to discourage, but to illustrate that forgiveness is difficult and takes consistent work and action. 

Has anyone ever told you "Oh, just forgive and forget it", "Move on", "Let it go!"?? My response is often the opposite: to usually hold on a little tighter, like a little kid stubbornly crossing her arms. How can we view forgiveness as a gift to ourselves? How can we integrate the concept of forgiveness into that of letting go? Under the theme of this month's topic, how can we look at forgiveness as a practice of letting go, which is ultimately preparation for dying?

Register for a link to an optional video about forgiveness and the Zoom link to join. 

PLEASE READ:

1. To participate, choose an option below. 

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***NOTE: Both the subject and 'sender' of the email confirmation will be "Forgiveness and Letting Go"***

3. I am unable to assist with technology issues or lost links once the discussion starts, so please arrive at least a few minutes early and contact me if there are any issues. Once we start, I give my full attention to the discussion.