A Moment of Forgiveness

Tuesday night in the sweet little Grief and Forgiveness Circle we will take a few moments to ask the inner question: Do I need to forgive Life in general for not giving me what I wanted?

It has taken me decades to see the wisdom in admitting that part of me is broken, part of me is a vulnerable and innocent child who is lost in a big, scary world, and, yes, if I am truthful I must say that a part of me secretly harbors varying levels of resentment towards Life and Death for taking away some of the people I loved most. It wouldn't hurt, and might help, if I took a few moments to let go of that disappointment, to touch it as lightly as a butterfly lights on this flower and that.

Life will forever be a mix of beauty and contrast, just as this morning's air, alive with birdsong, is tainted with diesel fumes from nearby construction vehicles while my eye spots in the fig tree the first purple fruit calling out to me.

The inherent beauty of the Circle is that the minute you sit down in one of the chairs on the deck by the river, you have eliminated the weight of feeling alone. Feeling alone, we cannot open fully towards the part of us that hurts, and continuing to ignore that part of yourself makes you a stranger to yourself.

As Maladome Some says, alienation is one of the faces of modernity. The cure is a new sense of togetherness.
 
If you hear the song of the circle, join us Tuesday, Sept. 13 at 6 pm for an hour on the back deck of the Swannanoa Valley Friends Meetinghouse, 137 Center Avenue, Black Mountain, NC.

You are encouraged to look for an object, a song, a poem, or some creative expression of your grief and to bring it with you to the circle. Speaking and sharing are optional but encouraged.

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