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Daily Advice 1.24.21
Jan. 24th, 2021 09:31 am Back to Sun Tzu tomorrow. Today, a brief but powerful bit of advice from that old master of the magical arts:
Forgiveness is not some empty moral platitude. Understood correctly, it's like the ultimate cheat-code to existence.
Consider:
Whatever you do will return to you, no matter what.
If you spend your time blessing others and doing charitable works, you will receive blessing and charity in return.
If you spend your time cursing others and doing hateful deeds, you will receive cursing and hate in return.
But what if you spend part of life time cursing, and then realize the error of your ways, and try to change things?
Well, you're still going to have to deal with the consequences of your earlier actions, and that's probably going to suck quite a bit...
Unless you have a way out.
And that's where forgiveness comes in. What you do will return to you; what you sew, you will reap. Sew barley, reap barley; sew brambles, reap brambles.
Sew forgiveness, and receive forgiveness.
When you forgive others, you release them from their debt to you. (You also free up a great deal of psychic energy that was locked up in staying mad at them, but that's a different topic.) At the same moment and by the same means, you are released from your own debts.
Couldn't this be abused? Couldn't you go out and do some monstrous crime, and then ensure you get away with it by forgiving someone who hurt you?
Well, let's think about that. If we reap as we sew; and we sew forgiveness only in an attempt to get away from a crime, what is it that we will reap?
Epictetus tells us,
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you;
but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Forgiveness is not some empty moral platitude. Understood correctly, it's like the ultimate cheat-code to existence.
Consider:
Whatever you do will return to you, no matter what.
If you spend your time blessing others and doing charitable works, you will receive blessing and charity in return.
If you spend your time cursing others and doing hateful deeds, you will receive cursing and hate in return.
But what if you spend part of life time cursing, and then realize the error of your ways, and try to change things?
Well, you're still going to have to deal with the consequences of your earlier actions, and that's probably going to suck quite a bit...
Unless you have a way out.
And that's where forgiveness comes in. What you do will return to you; what you sew, you will reap. Sew barley, reap barley; sew brambles, reap brambles.
Sew forgiveness, and receive forgiveness.
When you forgive others, you release them from their debt to you. (You also free up a great deal of psychic energy that was locked up in staying mad at them, but that's a different topic.) At the same moment and by the same means, you are released from your own debts.
Couldn't this be abused? Couldn't you go out and do some monstrous crime, and then ensure you get away with it by forgiving someone who hurt you?
Well, let's think about that. If we reap as we sew; and we sew forgiveness only in an attempt to get away from a crime, what is it that we will reap?
Epictetus tells us,
Remember never to say that you are alone; for you are not alone, but God is within, and your genius is within; and what need have they of light to see what you are doing?
