Return In Kind

There are many arts of progress and social behaviours, that not only define us as people, but as a society and as an individual. And since the universe is run by systems of cause and effect and the overall progression and evolution of small actions that ultimately create extraordinary reactions and changes to the world we live in. That even the slightest change in the wind's direction can cause a complete shift in the weather and the landscape we live on, or how small seismic incidences can change whole tides in seas, wreaking havoc and destruction!

Now likewise there is a saying in human nature that teaches us the concepts of "Tit for Tat", or biblical concepts of "Sowing & Reaping", and even scientific concepts of "Push and Repel". And this crazy idea that if someone wrongs you, all that is naturally expected is for you to return the gesture in kind. But what does that say about human nature? That if we are pushed, we simply push back? And judging how we've evolved naturally in our environment, that since the world became harsh, we simply grew stronger and fought off the changes, adapted and survived. And somehow we've applied the same laws in society, that when the world grows cold, we grow colder, and when things don't go our way, we attack anything and anyone around us, in the hopes that somehow the universe will magically turn things in our favour.

But I have learned a crucial piece of information, that has, I think, helped me become a better person, a happier person with a sound mind. Call it the hypothesis of Life and Living if you will, but I figured, that since the universe works on the concepts of Cause and Effect, what would happen if I reacted in a different way to a negative incident, with positivity? Would this not negate or somehow change the set rules of circumstance, and does this not make the situation seem better for me and everyone else? And so far I've come to understand the method to my madness. That if someone wrongs you or if things simply don't go your way, don't return the gesture in kind...But return it in Kindness.

Miserere

There’s an old chapter hidden in a book, filled with countless lessons of life and learning. But this particular section of a more than ancient book, teaches us about a certain act, which in turn teaches us to love, to grow, to understand about life and living...a simple, yet complicated act, a lost art if you will, since it requires elegance, grace, experience and understanding. To the simple mind, and to those who don’t fully understand or haven’t quite grasped the concept, even after reading the same chapter and old verses over and over again...they call it to Forgive and to Forget...But to the wiser, to the more refined, to the intellectual who has never once underestimated the difficulty of the process, or the fragility of the concept and the true purpose of the act...they call it by its true name...a word which sums up the entire process, not just the forgiving or the ridiculous attempt in trying to forget...they call it...Miserere.

There are so many things in life that can harm you. Physical things, natural things, human things and then there’s Life. But the things that hurt you the most in life, are the ones that leave scars in the most unlikely of places, hidden places too hard to find, in places nobody would ever be able to find, places we try to protect from even ourselves...places like the heart. Yes it’s protected by a solid rib cage, and layers of fat, plasters of flesh, barriers of skin and more...but it’s the heart of our existence I’m talking about...the heart beyond the human heart, beyond the shell...the heart of the human spirit, the essence of our being...the Soul. Now it’s very easy to say you have the ability to forgive, and heaven knows with enough drugs these days, you can even forget...but in truth, the real act of forgiveness is much harder than you could ever comprehend. If it were easy, then the post forgiving effects would not linger so, or seem very lasting, like changes in ones personality, or the way you address a similar problem in the future, or even the way you look at someone...if forgiveness were truly forgiving, then nothing would change from what it used to be...everything would be perfectly the same. So no...forgiveness isn’t that easy after all is it?

Then there’s the second process of Miserere...the art of forgetting. And while many people have tried, and tried to convince others that the concept is quite simple, in truth it is not, and is simply ignorance trying to convince you in believing that forgetting will change a thing. No, forgetting is far too hard, when the scars of hurt and pain are yet visible to your human spirit, since it rests in the deepest, yet most obvious places of your heart. A broken soul cannot forget the hurts of the past if it’s still broken...a mended soul cannot forget the scars of the past if it once was broken...a renewed soul cannot forget the history of the once visible scars, when every time it’s forced to look at a place where scars once were and are no longer, it will always remain renewed, but never new again.

So in truth, we can try and try again, to convince ourselves that life is as simple as forgiving and forgetting, but unfortunately it’s not. If life is as simple as that, then life it would seem, is as simple and as hard as learning to forgive and to forget. It’s far too difficult to do both at once, so chances are that the best you can do is simply trying to do one at a time, and learning how to perform the other, and hope that the two will stick. To forgive is clearing all the doubt, the hurt, the guilt and history of the deed that was ever done. To forget is to clear the doubt, the hurt, the guilt and the history that the deed was ever done. So with that you’re left with simply one thought...is life truly as singing the simple psalm...the art, the act...Miserere.