June 1 & 2--Never a Better Time

June 1--When you forgive, you love.  --Jon Krakauer
June 2--We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves. -- Dalai Lama XIV

     The "Daily Peace" book from which I am drawing these quotes is so divinely on target--I love the synchronicity. April's theme was strength, May's, acceptance, and now the June theme is forgiveness. That's not one of the favorites on my to-do list, but as we look out into our world, there's no better time for forgiveness than now.
     One of my favorite phrases about being human comes from Edwene Gaines, a dearly-loved spiritual mentor. She says, "We've all done stuff we wouldn't want to tell our grandmother about." That pretty well covers it.
     I would change the Krakauer quote above to "When you forgive, you love yourself." It's releasing the angst energy from body, mind and spirit, an act of great self-love. Forgiving doesn't condone a harm, or cause it to be forgotten. It takes away the emotional charge, possibly bringing some meaning to the event, and allowing space for "new and good" to enter one's life. It's making peace with ourselves, which can then extend out from us.
     I've done a LOT of forgiveness work in the past. I highly recommend the processes in the book "Radical Forgiveness" by Colin Tipping. Then there's self-forgiveness, which I find to be a lifelong practice. It's a mandatory one, because I want to be at peace with myself.
     Serenity is priceless,
              Leta