The concept of forgiveness is harder to swallow when applied to shockingly brutal individual acts and crimes against humanity.
I believe in the sun—even when it does not shine; I believe in love—even when it is not shown; I believe in God—even when He does not speak.
Scratched into a basement wall by a Holocaust victim
People with malicious intentions may exercise their free will by hurting others. God will not directly interfere because, by definition, free will cannot be interfered with. Consequently, God’s plan for each of us must weather continual course corrections; in extreme cases, our life’s plan must be rewritten. Even then, however, karmic forces are at work and angels hover near.
When you mix free will you get certain deviants. . . . You think that just because there is an absence of good, for instance, that evil exists. This is not so. In fact, things are far more intricate.
Lena Lees
It is insensitive at best and cruel at worst to suggest to those who have suffered horrifically that there may be even a modicum of meaning behind unspeakable crimes. And yet, even as we honor another’s grief, it is an argument that must be considered, even if it remains unspoken.
The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.
Richard Bach
We cannot profess that we are co-creators of everything that comes into our lives . . . except this. Or that everything happens for a reason . . . except that. Or that we are being divinely guided in every moment . . . except then.
Clearly, any attempt to understand the mind of God has its limits; and any purpose behind such incomprehensible suffering may remain beyond the capacity of human beings to grasp. But a purpose we cannot wrap our minds around is a purpose nonetheless.
You’ve got to look hard for the sparks of divinity in the ashes of atrocity.
Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis
HERE ARE MY FORGIVENESS-RELATED POSTS:
EVA KOR: A HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR FORGIVES THE UNFORGIVABLE
IMMACULEE ILIBAGEZA: A RWANDA GENOCIDE SURVIVOR WHO COULD ONLY KNOW PEACE THROUGH FORGIVENESS
TYLER PERRY FORGIVES HIS ABUSIVE FATHER
BILLY VERA: FORGIVENESS IS THE DOORWAY TO HEAVEN
MY VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH SPIRITUAL MEDIUM JAMES VAN PRAAGH
MY 2002 MAGAZINE INTERVIEW WITH WAYNE DYER
CAROLINE MYSS VIDEO ON HOW FORGIVENESS PROMOTES PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALING
WE CHOOSE OUR JOYS AND SORROWS
RECOGNIZE THE LIMITATIONS OF WHO YOU USED TO BE
REWRITE YOUR STORY THROUGH FORGIVENESS
LOVE + FORGIVENESS = RELATIONSHIP REPAIR
A PRAYER FOR SENDING PEOPLE LIGHT AND LOVE
ABOUT PHIL BOLSTA
Phil is the author of Sixty Seconds: One Moment Changes Everything, a collection of 45 inspiring, life-changing stories from prominent people he interviewed, including Joan Borysenko, Deepak Chopra, geneticist Dr. Francis Collins, acclaimed sportswriter Frank Deford, Dr. Larry Dossey, Wayne Dyer, Dan Millman, Caroline Myss, Dr. Christiane Northrup, Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, Dr. Bernie Siegel, James Van Praagh, singer Billy Vera, Doreen Virtue, Neale Donald Walsch, and bassist Victor Wooten.
Here is a three-minute video that introduces you to Phil and his book. Click here to buy Sixty Seconds. Click here to ask Phil to add you to his e-mail list for updates on his blog and books.
Reading this book is like spending a few minutes face to face with each of the contributors and listening to their personal stories. Click here to read unsolicited testimonials from readers. Learn more by visiting the official Sixty Seconds website.
Sixty Seconds was one of three finalists in the General Interest/How-To category at the 12th annual Visionary Awards presented by COVR (Coalition of Visionary Resources) in Denver on June 27, 2009.
Tags: Forgiveness, grief, mind of God, purpose, spiritual, suffering, tragedy
