This is a season when we are compelled to turn and look at ourselves, even as we learn that sometimes the only thing worse than a bad mirror is a good one.
In pursuit of forgiveness, most of us turn to God. Most of us also think of forgiveness as a vertical line, an up-and-down exchange, between us and Heaven. But while the first five Commandments are between God and Humankind, the second five Commandments are between us and each other. Consequently, to God – who certainly created the world out of love not compulsion for who could have compelled God to do anything – forgiveness is a horizontal line and is premised on our being forgiving to others. However, our ability to be other-forgiving requires us to be self-forgiving. This first-stage healing is neither vertical nor horizontal, but an inner journey.
So, for any of us seeking forgiveness, here is the map: Take the inner path to self-forgiveness, which allows you access to the horizontal path of other-forgiving, which leads you vertically to Divine forgiveness.
It is a process; forgiveness is not ahead of you but within you. On that journey, you are ground zero; you are the starting point, and the way ahead is the path within. Bon voyage!
Noah benShea is the international best-selling author of 22 books translated into 18 languages, including the famed “Jacob the Baker” series. www.noahbenshea.com
