KB
Snippets of a dozen different conversations swirl in the crisp Seattle air. The sun peeks bashfully between somber clouds, unsure of gracing the morning with his splendor.
As le Roi Soleil thinks, we people watch & await our world-famous bread bowls. The rebellious gurgling of our stomachs adds to the happy chatter of those who’ve got nowhere to be but now.
No matter the locale, the Poet draws attention from passersby who wonder if he’s someone they oughta know. Classic Don Johnson-esque stubble covers a strong jaw. A light smattering of freckles highlights well-defined cheekbones. His large, oft-broken, pugilist's nose renders him all the more approachable.
A nearby couple trade passive-aggressive barbs in dulcet tones & too-wide smiles.
Hey Poet, if that couple broke up, how should they deal with the shared trauma?
Well, they’d first have to acknowledge the reality of the breakup. Following that, avoid succumbing to anxiety, resentment, shame, anger. The list goes on, really. We weren’t placed here to serve as bitter record-keepers of grudges.
Aversion therapy aside, how can we start to heal?
Forgive yourself for reacting from a place of unconscious unthinking. Give the traumatic event a Viking funeral in your mind. Send it down the Ganges of your subconscious. Let it dissolve into the nothingness it always was.
Emotional pain takes the form, shape, importance, & permanence we feed it. It looks to us for meaning & once defined, it revolts like Spartacus. You make these things Godzilla-like in size. With equal ease, you can banish them to the void of non-existence from whence they emerged.
If you feel aggrieved, then you’re looking for a settling of scores. Your back turned to gratitude, bliss, & love.
I say unto you, why?
Our bread bowls arrive, seafood bisque for us both. We dig in ravenously for the next few minutes.
The Poet takes a swig of Rainier & wipes his mouth with the back of a hand.
Your impassioned mental crusade could take weeks, months, years, decades, lifetimes to fulfill. Once completed, where does it bring you? To a time before the Universe wished to spark an evolution in your soul. You've undone the catalyst & obscured your path forward.
So we're just stuck forever?
¡Cálmate! Physician, to heal the universe, heal thyself.
Look, you cannot reason people out of a position they’ve not reasoned themselves into. Like you, they’re acting & reacting unconsciously 99% of the time. If they were conscious, they wouldn't have acted upon you in the first place, right?
I guess not.
We all lash out & flail about as we scurry from one disaster of our making to another. So how would torching their heart’s oil derricks change anything? It only pushes them further into non-awareness.
Have you extinguished the wildfire raging in your soul by fanning the flames in theirs? Not one bit. But now you're convinced that your infinite soul is superior to theirs.
Our check arrives. I pay & we climb to our feet with guttural noises of protest passed down by dads since time immemorial.
The Poet grabs a toothpick & mint for the road.
So hell, it’s more than fair to teach them a lesson so they know better next time. Now, know what exactly?
That I’m every bit as lost & entangled as them?
Precisely! Insisting upon our importance makes it impossible to turn the other cheek & let go. Your ego demands a comeuppance. So you defend your false self against every aggrievement & snub. Again, I say unto you, why?
They could assail your soul for a trillion years & never once alter your eternal self in any way. By mirroring their unconsciousness, you delay their awareness' awakening.
What if we don’t wish to forgive them or their actions?
Forgive yourself for the self-loathing festering in the dark recesses of your heart. For guiltily blaming yourself for their actions & their unthinking unconsciousness. Forgive yourself for wishing to be the long hand of the law.
So, it isn’t our place to restore justice to the cosmos?
Oh, my heavens & stars, darling. We had a rough couple of billion years before you sauntered on up to the scene. Thank goodness you’re here now. No, Buzz Lightyear, the Universe isn’t imbalanced. We are.
Our perspective is often skewed, reactive, & dismissive.
Imagine you're on the Titanic the night she lost a game of chicken to that iceberg. Surely, the ship isn't sinking into the frigid Arctic waters. Those weeping, hysterical lunatics must be off-kilter. Yet, what is there to do while the violins weep, "Nearer, my God, to thee"?
Forgive. Come home to yourself.
Who am I to declare anyone forgiven? Doesn’t that imply ego, too?
Yes! Now you’re wondering who exactly are you forgiving. How are they so different from me that I must bestow my forgiveness upon their unworthy brows? You've begun to see they’re as real & flawed as you.
Forgiveness teaches you non-attachment. Non-attachment to the words & actions of others. To your words, thoughts, actions, & desires. They're motivated by the same irrational, unconscious mind as everyone else's.
You're differentiated from others only by the illusory conflicts of the ego. It's the one whispering fanciful tales of revenge & retribution to you. Forgiveness is anathema to the ego.
Forgiveness is inexhaustible, always within our grasp. When you forgive, you reach into the cosmic forge of unity. The boundless bellows of love replenish your soul.
In this life, there's only one thing to do.
Forgive everyone for everything.
