Until you have something to forgive reflections on the golden rule
CS Lewis, the science fiction author, said, “Everyone is in favor of Forgiveness, until they have something to Forgive.”
One implication of this is that we benefit and grow by putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes (point of view). So, I could say my neighbor should be tolerant of my dogs barking, but how tolerant am I of her mowing her lawn at 7am on a Saturday?
It is almost a cliché to say, “Government regulations hinder small business development” but how do you feel about government regulations when the small business you work for decides they are unable to pay you for work you’ve already done. You might find yourself glad that there are labor laws – and that you will be the first to be paid – even if the small business goes bankrupt.
One thing we do in our Yoga of the Mind classes is work toward developing internal flexibility. If you are used to always being the center of attention, we would teach you to flex and learn to blend in. If you are used to being invisible, we would teach you to shift your energy to command attention. We are not prescribing anything in particular, we are just saying it is very useful to have a full range of flexibility in terms of using your internal abilities.
This includes being able to see things from other’s point of view. To use my example, my neighbor obviously loves her lawn as much as I love my dogs. So it is no surprise that she acts on that love – which might at times include mowing at 7am.
One of the keys to developing our internal energetic flexibility is developing neutrality, developing the ability to be at peace with what is. This ability does not take anything away from your desire to positively and creatively change what is. It just gives you a true starting point.
By David Stevens
