To Have a Mind at Peace with Itself
How Forgiveness Works
Dear Friend
There’s a creative energy that comes to you when you commit to something. Your mind comes alive. The practice is to create from the heart, whether you feel like it or not.
I like connecting here, free from ads and safe from what must be by now, a staggering amount of unkind, unforgiving, inflammatory material.
A peaceful mind.
What a relief to feel the sun on your skin. The mossy cradle of oak roots, by a river.
It’s what forgiving does.
Forgiving brings peace.
A mind at peace with itself.
It seems to be some place off in the future.
Only we made time up.
When it comes, it comes now.
Time has always been for me more like an ocean than an arrow. Birthdays. Which birthday is this one? How old am I? The changing seasons of the way you feel inside, measured by the clocks and calendars and notebooks.
I remember when we learned time. I couldn’t believe how much fun it was stamping red clock faces in my maths book, drawing on the hands of time. Or sometimes you had to look at a clock that already had hands and you could write the time in a box, in full sentences, and in numbers.
We had Casio watches. Digital was a new word back then.
My favourite watch came ‘free’ when Dad capitulated to our demands we have a telephone line installed in our house.
Dad was on call to Ogden and Lawson’s, who made copper coolers, where he was the maintenance engineer. He didn’t want night security calling him, every time something out of the ordinary happened. He figured, if it was important enough they could drive over and wake him. It was a five minute drive to Dad’s work.
Our world was tiny back then, and huge at the same time.
The watch had Busby on it. I knew it was Bernard Cribbins who was the real Busby, because I’d heard his lovely familiar voice coming out of the tv ads. A great big yellow bird. Bernard was a favourite. A sense of humour is comforting to be around.
The voice inside your mind, if it’s humourless, maybe take notice. Self attack won’t do it. No peace to be had there.
Forgiveness is a literal gift we give ourselves, whoever or whatever, however you’re forgiving it comes back to you. It can’t be any other way.
Forgiveness is a homing bird, roosting on the branches of the oak.
On the banks of a river.
Compassion too, it seeks the one who gives it and will not rest until it returns home.
There are no risks attached.
Appreciation. The heart nestled in the core of the trunk.
All of those leaves and clouds in the water.
Who can catch hold of a cloud?
What would you do with it anyway?
We can’t grab time any more than we can hold a handful of water.
The rivers run into the ocean.
Deadlines.
They need facing down.
That takes more courage than you know. Crossing the threshold is the thing. Answering the call.
A guy just rang from Amnesty International. They are gathering evidence, there will be trials. The insanity, when will it be a cautionary tale?
Told by children about a time.
In a land,
Long, long ago.
Becoming peaceful means we make peace with ourselves.
And with one another.
This work of lifetimes.
When it comes
It comes.
Now.
Till Tomorrow
Love
Mikey