“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet
sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” [1]
There is no rationale for forgiveness.
It violates every norm of self-justification.
Eludes retribution.
Levels knee-jerk responses.
Hollowing out preconceived ideas of right and wrong,
it challenges exaggeration,
dispenses with easy answers,
daring to move into dimensions of ourselves we’d prefer to forget.
Forgiveness neither insists on its own way
nor does it condemn the path that others choose to take.
Instead, it creates what may not have existed previously:
the willingness to let go of grudges’ satisfaction
while knowing that what you’re undertaking may not be understood.
Yet you are not left empty-handed.
Nor does the bereavement that had held you tight in its clasp last.
Rather, having chosen a different way and
a new frame of reference…
A spaciousness emerges,
and the violet within that had given up its fragrance,
now flourishes, infusing your senses.
And what had been only loss and even humiliation,
can become a place of freedom and newfound joy.
[1] Mark Twain
Thank you. A gentle reminder that more often works for me. And a Twain quote that I did not know!
Thank you, Maren. Gentle reminders work best for me as well, and I do my best to move in that direction!
“A spaciousness emerges,
and the violet within that had given up its fragrance,
now flourishes, infusing your senses.
And what had been only loss and even humiliation,
can become a place of freedom and newfound joy.”
A beautiful and refreshing way of describing the emergence of hope that pushes through even the hardest earth, when forgiveness’ seed has been planted. Thank you!
Thank you, Todd. I love your poetic metaphor “through even the hardest earth.” It speaks to the transformative dimensions of forgiveness…when change seems impossible.