Forgiveness

I had a conversation with a dear friend that led me to think seriously about forgiveness. Why is it so hard to really forgive? Who do I need to forgive? Why don't I just do it? What is stopping me? I sent an ecard to someone I need to forgive? I don't know if I am ready to really do it but it is a start. But actually the person I really need to forgive in my life is myself.


Good site about forgiveness

Passage from Jack Kornfield, A Path With Heart

"True compassion arises from a sense that the heart has a fearless capacity to embrace all things, to touch all things, to relate to all things. Chogyam Trungpa called this the spiritual warrior’s tender heart of sadness.

‘...when you awaken your heart, you find to your surprise that your heart is empty. You find that you are looking into outer space. What are you, who are you, where is your heart? If you really look, you won’t find anything tangible or solid... If you search for the awakened heart, if you put your hand through your rib cage and feel for it, there is nothing but tenderness. You feel sore and soft, and if you open your eyes to the rest of the world, you feel tremendous sadness. This sadness doesn’t come from being mistreated. You don’t feel sad because someone has insulted you nor because you feel impoverished. Rather, this experience of sadness is unconditioned. It occurs because your heart is completely open, exposed. It is the pure raw heart. Even if a mosquito lands on it, you feel so touched.... It is this tender heart of a warrior that has the power to heal the world.’


The power of the compassionate heart, of genuine compassion, to transform the pain we encounter is extraordinary."