Law of Forgiveness

It turns out that the Law of Attraction, made popular by the movie \”The Secret\”, is only the beginning. According to many personal development gurus there are 7 essential laws of the Universe. Unfortunately, they can\’t come to an agreement on which 7 are really the essential ones and which are supporting actors. But, it also turns out that it doesn\’t really matter because they all work together, like cogs in a wheel, to make the world go round.

Many of these laws have a strong basis in New Age thought or different religious backgrounds. However, while different entities have accepted and even embraced some of these laws, many of them are just reality, the same way that the law of gravity is just reality. For instance, when you get out of bed in the morning you expect your feet hit the floor. Your feet hit the floor because of gravity. You don\’t expect to wake up in the morning floating up near the ceiling, but instead lying in your bed comfortably beneath your covers.

There are other laws, such as the Law of Cause and Effect, which is also self evident. All of scientific experimentation and theory is based on the belief that there must be a causative action before an effect is produced. For instance in order to get water to boil you must heat it. But you don\’t use an indiscriminate amount of heat, you must use a specific amount of heat in order to get the water to boil.

The Law of Forgiveness is one that has strong roots in Christianity. It was Jesus Christ who taught His followers that the individual who does not forgive is the one that is hurts when there is anger between two people. Psychologists and psychiatrists today continue to teach people that in order to move on from any situation that caused hurt or pain they must forgive not only the person who hurt them, but also themselves.

This Law of Forgivenes is an integral part of the human psych. It is only through forgiveness that we are able to let go of hatred, anger and judgment. Forgiveness is required because, at some point, there will be judgments or blame of either yourself or others. This judgment separates us from the ability to love and communicate acceptance and joy.

Imagine waking up in the morning without a care in the world. You no longer have a heavy burden on your heart for anyone in your life but instead are joyful and excited about meeting a new day with new potential. Your pain, grief, anger and resentment are gone, forever.

That is a beautiful picture of a person who has forgiven, not only others who have wronged them but also himself. We all have been wronged at one time or another. Some of us need only think back to yesterday while others may have to dig a little deeper to find a time when things happened which were far from fair. But life is not fair, and it never will be. There are people who have been blessed with more talent than they know what to do with, others with more money and still others with seemingly insurmountable luck.

Contrast those people with others who live without homes, in situations that are unspeakable or struggle daily just to keep body and soul together. Life is not fair, it never has been and it never will be.

The issue is never about how fair life is, or whether or not you receive your just due, but rather how you play the hand you are dealt. The Law of Forgiveness is important to your own future, not the future of those who have wronged you.

Let\’s consider for a moment that you have been hurt by something an enemy has done to you. You harbor your anger, frustration and hurts for days, weeks and maybe months. It builds up inside of you and makes you bitter and hard. Who has this changed? Has it made a difference in the way that your enemy has treated you or in the way that they will treat you tomorrow? Or, as it made a difference in the way that you see the world and the way that you interact with others?

Forgiving your enemy what was done to you does not change your enemy. It does not change their perception of reality. In fact it only changes you. It makes you better. It builds your character. It frees you to be able to live your life without bitterness and anger and to accept love and joy from others.

Which life do you want to lead – angry and bitter, frustrated over all the things that happen to you in your lifetime or joyful and freed by the knowledge that you have the power to forgive others what they have done to you so that you have the freedom and power and they no longer have power over you?