Poor me; or somthing to be thankful about?

[MaineShark]

1st.    If you do nothing else - LEARN to FORGIVE!
2nd.   If you are not practiced at forgiving, please practice with & on the little things.
3rd.    Forgive everything in the past - - - including yourself.
4th.    Forgive EVERYTHING - as you would wish to be forgiven.
5th.    Remember to practice forgiving ALL OF the LITTTLE THINGS!

I'm not the forgiving type...

And I don't wish to be forgiven; I'd much rather just live my life in such a way as to avoid the need for forgiveness (ie, never cause unjust harm to others).

This is not a condemnation of your path.  If it works for you, that's truly great.  Just pointing out that there are many roads to the same place.

Joe

[Kat Kanning]

Forgiveness is more a benefit to yourself than the person you're forgiving.  Carrying around grudges/anger is bad for your health.

[Russell Kanning]

This is not a condemnation of your path.  If it works for you, that's truly great.  Just pointing out that there are many roads to the same place.

Joe

By the multitude of comments you have posted here ... and this most recent one, I would say that you are on a totally different path going in a different direction than the one John is headed down. The path leads to the destination.

[kola]

Forgiveness is more a benefit to yourself than the person you're forgiving.  Carrying around grudges/anger is bad for your health.

Kat nails it.

Kola

[MaineShark]

Forgiveness is more a benefit to yourself than the person you're forgiving.  Carrying around grudges/anger is bad for your health.

I'm the healthiest person I know.  Literally.  I broke my leg and didn't even notice it as more than a swollen area with a bit of an ache.  Didn't even go home from work.  After the swelling went down in a couple of days, I could feel the crushed area of the bone below, and had a doctor verify that it was actually broken.

By the multitude of comments you have posted here ... and this most recent one, I would say that you are on a totally different path going in a different direction than the one John is headed down. The path leads to the destination.

Possibly.  Of course, one person can head north, and another can head south, and both arrive at the same place, if they started from different points...

I happen to like the destination I'm headed to.

Joe

[kola]

curious...where are ya goin Joe?

Kola

[MaineShark]

curious...where are ya goin Joe?

I should have said "destinations," since life is a journey and I enjoy visiting the sights along the way.

Are you curious about next week, next month, next year, next decade, next century, or what?

Joe

[John]

Hey John, sometimes when we get sick it becomes a blessing in disguise. For many, it surely makes one put things into perspective and appreciate the things we used to ignore.  ... btw I admire your thoughts regarding the spirit. Sickness almost always opens the doors to this kind of recognition. ... 

Thanks!

Not that most here don't already know, but imagine already being on a PEACEFUL path for many, many years, and then having what you've (for a long time) thought you've already learned confirmed.

[John]

Forgiveness is more a benefit to yourself than the person you're forgiving.  Carrying around grudges/anger is bad for your health.

What can one say about such brevity?   

[Pat K]

Well I have been a=Patience my ass, I'M gonna kill something type,
but hanging around you guys, has mellowed me.

[John]

In all fairness to Joe he has, as far as I can tell (but I'm getting very tired), not said here that he caries any grudges and/or anger.

[John]

Pat K on the other hand???  Just kidding!   

Pat, I was already mellowing long before I ever got here, but all of you GOOD folks sure do help confirm that I found the right path.

[Kat Kanning]

I wasn't speaking about Maineshark, but forgiveness in general.  I did think him jumping on you about the way you're choosing to live was pretty ratty.

[MaineShark]

In all fairness to Joe he has, as far as I can tell (but I'm getting very tired), not said here that he caries any grudges and/or anger.

Oh, I have a lot of anger about the state of this world.  I look at all the evil around me, and see not just "big evils," but the petty little things that 95% of the population does to each other - like little bits of thievery - and it's easy to get very angry.  A few "big baddies" would be easy to conquer, but pervasive evil like that is not so simple.

It's very easy to see how someone (like Rob/powerchuter, for example) could wish for a button that would wipe those 95% off the map.  I can easily sympathize with the desire to "wipe the slate clean" and start over.

But I can look around and see all the beautiful and noble things that folks do in the face of adversity.  Someone gets lost in the woods, and dozens of folks form search parties to find him.  He might be some punk who just shoplifted merchandise from the very merchant who is now searching for him.  The merchant probably hasn't forgiven him for that, but the anger doesn't matter in that moment, because there is love for a fellow traveller in this world, which overwhelms it.

Cops who think nothing of abusing the public at every turn, can nevertheless run into a pair of collapsing skyscrapers and try to save their very victims, dying themselves in the process.

I have more than enough anger for this world to make me push that hypothetical button, but I have love for this world to stay my hand.

I wasn't speaking about Maineshark, but forgiveness in general.  I did think him jumping on you about the way you're choosing to live was pretty ratty.

As I said to John: "This is not a condemnation of your path.  If it works for you, that's truly great.  Just pointing out that there are many roads to the same place."

Guess I'm just perturbed by fools who think that their path is the only one (not speaking of the folks on this particular thread, although I'm sure y'all can guess which thread I'm referring to).  Can't recall who said it, but there are many paths to the top of the mountain, and the view is the same.  Some choose their path by aiming straight at the goal, and doing their best to overcome all obstacles.  Others weave a circuitous route, taking longer to get there, but avoiding the major obstacles and being surer of success.  And others have never been to the top, but are more than happy to tell you how great the view is, while giving out bad directions to sabotage others, figuring that as long as no one gets there, their own failed quest doesn't matter.  If I didn't pity the latter too much to feel more, I'd surely be quite angry with them.

I guess I shouldn't say that I'm not the forgiving type, either.  I don't hand it out like candy, though.  If someone wants my forgiveness, he needs to stop doing his particular brand of evil, make reparations to his victims, and take steps to live without doing more evil.  Earning my forgiveness is a difficult process, but not an impossible one.

Joe

[grasshopper]

http://www.holybibleonline.net/john/bible_john_11.shtml

   This is that evil book that says love thy brother and don't kill n stuff.
   This is the point where Jesus knows his friend is sick, Jesus lets him die, Jesus wept.  It bothered him.  He was going to go and heal his friend but didn't because he had to use this sickness and death to proove a point.
   My favorite part of this is when Lazzerouses friends and family were more concerned about the stench of death rather than their Brother being reanimated into life.
   Some say Lazzerous is still alive and waiting for the return of Elvis...   Err  I mean CHrist.
   Your sickness might be the "proverbial" '   Wake up call"  Now, who is calling?  Your spirit or the holy spirit?