Monday, August 27, 2012

Forgiveness Re-Examined

I've always liked this story and feel like I'm going to give forgiveness one more try. But first, the story, then my thoughts.

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried pitifully for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.

2. Free your mind from worries - Most never happen.

3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less

Now, to my thoughts. I try to put a time goal on trying to forgive my Mom and her family for what they all did. Most of me knows it's a much better idea to say fuck them all and move on. I'm making my own family. WITHOUT THEM. But there's that part of me that is sickeningly kindhearted and needs to keep the peace. I want to forgive them, but if I ever associate with them again, I will develop an irrational fear of being touched. So, am I willing to give up my sanity that I try so hard to keep as it is, just to keep the peace with people who don't see the world as I do, as a whole, that there is more to all of this than their greedy selves? Probably not. I think I'm done this time. I'm pretty sure it's over. Will I attend funerals? Yes. Will I cry? I don't know, actually. They feel dead to me as it is, I don't think it'll be much more than a little shock... if I cried, it'd be happy tears of final release. I don't like any of them right now. Cherryl and Carl always side with my mother and suffer if they don't. Same goes for my Grandparents. Might as well be the same for my Aunt Litza but they're kind of the same. Debra... failed faster than I did with starting college because she didn't listen to me. At all. Jennifer is still the little whore that she always will be. Deanna is a confused and sexual person that is in love with her homophobic best friend. The only three that I'm not sure of are Todd, Nathaniel and Cynthia. They're the only ones who keep silence. It's strange. And sad. I hope the best for them, but I doubt Cynthia will be much different from the rest of her family, sad as it sounds. Hopefully Nathaniel is losing more weight and becoming healthier and more productive. I hope Todd is smarter about his after high school plans and leaves far away to make his own life. I hope to run into him again on a bittersweet note. I hope all of the adults die soon from their drug, alcohol and depression problems. They're better off and the world is better off without filth like them. Will I ever forgive them for their shunning? I don't fucking think so.

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