on forgiveness
to err is human.
to forgive is divine.
…but i am human.
in the past i have taken the attitude that i should not tolerate more than a single transgression. today’s enlightened thinkers would tell me that i should be more accepting. that everyone makes mistakes. and i admit that for most people this is probably true. that we should, in the general case, be accepting, forgiving, and understanding. but i am not the general case.
if i am to execute on what i must, i must live by a code of honor. respect. such a code is to live freely. codified rules don’t restrict, they establish a baseline from which one can grow beyond. you can stop asking the same questions over and over and over and over.
that’s what it is, in the end. this is why i’ve started reading (and re-reading) philosophical texts lately. More on that later.
That said, I too make mistakes (more than most!).
Don’t hold grudges on mistakes.
Errors are to be forgiven.
It’s the spirit behind the mistakes, the carelessness or the mindfulness or the frequency, that should be considered.
individual mistakes, individual transgressions – these are things we should not hold onto. they can fall freely between the fingers, like sand passing through air.
but repeated instances are symptomatic of one’s character.
that is something you can either accept. so it is with friendship, growth, and caring for each other.
…or it’s something you can reject.
and walk away.
