The following is a quote from a great book How Good Do We Have To Be? by Harold S. Kushner:
_______________________________________________________________________
“When we do something wrong, because we are human and our choices are so complicated and temptation so strong, we do not lose our humanity. However, we do lose our integrity, our sense of wholeness, of being the same person all the time. We create a situation where part of us, our good self, is at war with another part of us, our weak and selfish side. We lose the focus, the singleness of purpose, that enables us to do the things that matter to us. That is when we need the religious gift of atonement and forgiveness (making our split selves at one). But should we ever conclude that there is no point in trying to be good enough, that is when we lose everything. Being human can never mean being perfect, but it should always mean struggling to be as good as we can and never letting our failures be a reason for giving up the struggle.”
_________________________________________________________________________________
Isn’t this an interesting thought? All of us are imperfect. We all will make mistakes, commit errors, hurt others, and fail. This is inevitable and part of our individual paths to knowledge, wisdom and growth.
The question is – what do we do with these failures? Where do they go inside us?
We all know people who carry around guilt and use it as a weapon. We know people who attempt to blame everyone else for self-made challenges.
A valuable lesson to learn is the trick of looking closely at things that go wrong for the gifts they bring. Sometimes these gifts are well hidden and we must dig deep to find them. Then allow yourself the freedom to release the wrongness in whatever way works for you. Ask forgiveness from yourself, others who are affected and from God, the Universe or whatever you might call the source of all our power. This forgiveness allows us to carry on without the burdens that are so heavy to carry and add up so quickly to create an overwhelming load.
This applies to wrongs done to others as well as to ourselves. We, as humans, are not perfect and do not want to be. Life is however, perfect as it is!
And never stop trying! We all know and have heard many times there are only two ways to live. You are either dying or growing. There is no standing still in life. Your choice!
So then – How good do we have to be? What do you think?
