Once upon a time, there was a Little Soul who said to God: 

– I know who I am! I know what I want to be!  I want to be the part of Special called ” Forgiving”. Isn’t it special to be forgiving? 

– 0h yes, God assured the Little Soul. That is very special. But there’s one thing you should know, there’s no one to forgive. Everything I’ve made is perfect. There is not a single soul in all creation less perfect than you. Who then to forgive? 

But just then, a Friendly Soul stepped forward from the crowd and said: 

– Not to worry Little Soul, I’ll help you. I can come into your next lifetime and do something really terrible to you and then you can experience the forgiving. 

But I have one favor to ask of you in return.

– Oh, anything, anything!” cried the Little Soul and began to dance and sing: “I get to be forgiving, I get to be forgiving!”

– In the moment that I strike you and smite you, the Friendly Soul replied, in the moment that I do the worst to you that you could possibly imagine – in that very moment, remember Who I Really Am. 

– Oh, I will!” cried the Little Soul. “I promise! I’ll always remember you as I see you right here, right now”.

(Extract re-edited from N. Walsch book « The little soul & the sun »)

Have you ever looked at forgiveness from that angle?

Yet when the Friendly Soul, honoring his commitment, comes to deliver to us our gift, we are not inclined to unwrap it. Instead, we react angrily, becoming deaf and blind to the hidden message it contains. We systematically lose an opportunity to grow through soul experiences. 

Fortunately, life will give the Friendly Soul other opportunities to renew its message until it is assimilated.

In another area, the word “Forgive” can also be read “For Give”. 

There are two distinct gives that we have an interest in freeing ourselves from to feel lighter and liberated:

– The give back to the other of the harm he did to us

– The give in of our responsibility for what happened to us

It is therefore as important to forgive the other as it is to forgive oneself. Indeed, even if we think that we are not responsible of hardships life sends us, aren’t we at least responsible in the way we live them?

A beautiful African proverb tells us: Forgive others, not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace of mind. 

Isn’t that what we are all looking for?

Yet let’s be appeased, forgiveness in no way means reconciliation with our offender. And even if there is reconciliation, it doesn’t mean that we must live together again. Forgiving does absolutely not mean forgetting, it would be impossible for us anyway, unless it is due to illness or divine grace. 

To forgive is to put the unfair offense in its rightful place, to move it away little by little, to become more than what we wanted to make of us. 

Concretely, it is a very tough fight. The closest the offender is, the hardest It is to forgive. But don’t you think it is worthy trying?

That said, is everything forgivable?

When I think of Nelson Mandela, I tend to believe so. This great man understood well that the desire of revenge awakened by anger and resentment towards our oppressor finally comes down to remaining his prisoner. While forgiveness liberates the soul.

All in all, what if the secret to happiness lies in our ability to forgive?