Monday, December 4, 2017

Only GOD can forgive

Some things only GOD can forgive.
(Kesha, Praying)

Has is ever happened to you that a room was so full of loaded emotion that a seemingly innocent remark results in a thunderbolt of emotional outburst? Accusations and insults flow, but they are at this point merely instinctive. It is only after all the broken China lies on the flow that consciousness kicks in, helplessly asking, ‘what the heck happened here?’

I was struck when I heard Kesha’s Prayer lyrics, ‘Only GOD can forgive’; somehow it resonated with me. Sure, it goes against everything spirituality is about. Our morals demand that we go to bed forgiving our enemies; many faiths even recommend to pray for those who sinned against us. Actually, Kesha did that too in her song. Praying and consciously forgiving is enormously helpful for our karmic bonds and our peace of mind, but it is naive and arrogant to think that we have full control over this process. A lot of stuff is buried in the depth of our subconscious, and sometimes the dirt of the past pops to the surface in these ‘coup de foudre’ moments. Consciously, there is absolutely nothing we can do about it.

When I thought about the right picture for this note, immediately the symbol of the iceberg came to mind. On the surface we see the thoughts and actions that are under our conscious control, but beneath it is the stuff that merely happens. Karmic bonds have to be paid for, emotional baggage has to be let go of. There is something we can do though, praying and faith has  enormous influence over what slumbers below, if you are innocent that is, and not righteous. There is spiritual arrogance in the established religions, especially among those who consciously or subconsciously feel they are a cut above the rest. I have met religious people who claim that they pray for those who sin against them, but as they were saying it, their eyes, and even their scents, were telling a story of condemnation. 

Put your best foot forward to forgive, try your best, certainly pray, but in the end understand that only GOD can forgive.



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