September 18, 2007

Meditation for the Day

If we’re going to seriously consider the issue of forgiveness, we need to have an understanding of what it means to forgive. Some of us won’t even consider the possibility of forgiveness because we think it implies that what was done to us was OK. Or we refuse to forgive because we think it lets the other person off the hook, that it lets them get away with what they did. The problem is that they are not on the hook, we are. We forgive so that we can finally be freed from all the anger and pain of our past. We have to forgive, not because what happened was OK, but because we can’t afford to be stuck in old memories that lock us into anger, resentments, and vengeful fantasies. Yes, we do have the right to feel that way, but it’s a right that addicts in recovery cannot afford to invoke. If we don’t forgive, these thoughts will continue to poison our minds, our hearts, and our souls. Forgiveness is something that we do for ourselves, so that we can be free.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I will be able forgive so that I can free myself from all of the hurtful memories that I have held on to for far too long. I ask God to help me see how dangerous anger and vengeance are to my recovery so I can begin to let them go