FORGIVE AND REMEMBER How often during your lifetime have you been advised to forgive and forget about something that has hurt or upset you? It might have seemed like good, sound advice, but you may find it's nearly impossible to do. To forgive does not necessarily mean one should forget. It means, however, that you should chew back the bitterness and pain of life's heartache stew, set the pot of aching memories on the back burner, the turn off the heat. The closed pot can serve as a warning if you're ever faced with potentially dangerous or hurtful situations in the future. If a questionable or possibly harmful situation parks itself at your table of life it's sometimes a good idea to lift the lid of the forgiveness pot and allow it's contents to simmer slightly. This peek into the pot can serve as a reminder of past pain and heartache, of the toxic ingredients so venomous in your past. Once the smell of putrid memories has served its purpose it's time to close the lid once more not to be opened again unless necessary to infuse your consciousness with a reminder of the wisdom gleaned from past experience. Forgiveness is antacid for pain of the soul. Remembrance, rather than forgetting, is the vaccine that builds immunity to buffer the pitfalls of the future. by © Barbara A. Duits 1999 Return to Index HomePage