Forgiveness
AKMA blogs Forgiveness, in a deep and touching way:
Forgiving wrongs requires us to take them utterly seriously as injuries to one another and to the relationships of which we form a part. And: I tell myself, “It doesn’t matter”–but I am not the one who may make that discernment. I’m not in a position to know how badly Margaret wanted pepper on her eggs, nor even of whether she ought to have wanted pepper that much. David Weinberger follows up with: My religion, Judaism, … puts particular stress on making whole what one has ruptured through one’s bad behavior. Yes, you resolve not to do it again, and yes, you don’t let that behavior rend the fabric of the relationship. But you also run out to the store immediately and buy Margaret some more damn pepper. As a married man (going on 4 years now) I find that these lessons are the most valuable, and the hardest to face, and the hardest to learn. Part of marriage to me is letting go of “I want”; every day, every hour, loving the other person more than yourself. You can do this (theoretically) because the other person is doing the same. Of course, we are none of us perfect, which brings us to the essential necessity of forgiveness.