Sunday Thoughts

From One Mountain, Many Paths
An American Freemason Speaks Out for Peace

by Dr. Patrick Swift
Click book or here to go to the page and buy it for yourself,


This week the bo0k opened to this:

And, O my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord, then turn unto him repentant; He will cause the sky to rain abundance on you and will add unto you strength to your strength. Turn not away, guilty!

The Meaning of the Glorious Quran 11:52

Islam

Kabeer, where there is spiritual wisdom there is righteousness and Dharma.
Where there is falsehood, there is sin.
Where there is greed, there is death.
Where there is forgiveness, there is God himself.

Shri Guru Granth Shib 40:9.155
Sikhism

I wonder how some people can forgive those who commit great crimes against them. I have read of many instances where some one's sister or daughter or brother is killed and the survivor has two paths to take. Some of them forgive the person who did the murder. Others carry the event with them for the rest of their lives. They can't let it go and they let that one event color everything that they do. I, fortunately, have never had something like that happen to me. I don't know how I would react.

I have a suspicion that I would be a little of both. There are some things I just can't forgive. Usually these are things that have been done to others. There are some things that I have a lot of trouble getting "past" and the event comes into my thought at odd times and I "flash back" and get sad over it. That happened yesterday. I guess I am still needing forgiveness. Forgiveness for and from the other person involved. And there are a couple of people that I would have a very hard time forgiving. A couple of people who spread their venom about me behind my back.

In addition I think people need to learn to forgive themselves. My mother used to (lovingly) try to use guilt to get my sister and I to do things. I can still see her saying "I have given you the best years of my life and this is the way you repay me," (or very close to that Ginny you can correct me in the comments if you want as you have a much better memory than I do) - all the while we would be giggling and laughing about it. She was so much fun. I would then say something like - "It won't work, Mom. Guilt, the gift that keeps on giving!" There were, of course, things I feel guilty about and they do indeed "keep on giving," I have to work to forgive myself for things I have done which I am not proud of doing. And it is work.

Jesus on the cross is supposed to have said "Father forgive them." One of the verses (neither of them from Christianity this week) says "...where there is forgiveness, there is God himself" that is a pretty powerful statement. The idea of God forgiving us. Man thinks of himself as a "sinner" knowing that he "misses the mark" (another definition of sin) and "falls short." That whole idea of being a "sinner" has always bothered me until I learned what it meant. It is not something that I do on purpose. It is just the way all of us are. And God forgives us for being that way. Next we need to forgive ourselves and each other for then the other quotation comes into play. "He will cause the sky to rain abundance on you and will add unto you strength to your strength."

I think that is a wonderful concept. Do I think that means I will become wealthy and have a lot of money or 13 homes to live in? Not hardly, I know that having all that material wealth is not abundance. Instead I look for an abundance of spirit and strength to get through the days and weeks. I know that is the true abundance. An abundance that is available to me through the spirit of forgiveness and love. The Spirit which is God.

Just my thoughts. Have a blessed week. ARTYAL, Hugs, j

PS. Click on the word Dharma above to go find out what that is. I think it is a neat concept. Thanks again Patrick for your book. My friend Kurt tells me his came in the mail the other day so I sold at least one for you.
Addendum:
Just found this and wanted to put it somewhere:

“Masonry propagates no creed except its own most simple and Sublime One; that universal religion, taught by Nature and by Reason. It reiterates the precepts of morality of all religions. It venerates the character and commends the teachings of the great and good of all ages and of all countries. It extracts the good and not the evil, the truth, and not the error, from all creeds; and acknowledges that there is much that is good and true in all. (Morals and Dogma p. 718)