The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naïve forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget.
Thomas Stephen Szasz
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Life is full of unexpected vicissitudes, but generally speaking we harvest what we sow.
Unconsciously or consciously we judge the people around us and store our feelings in one of our brain’s little compartment.
When one of these storage units overfills, the spillage spoils the smooth running of the human machine.
We become tense, anxious, volatile.
Any careless remark can trigger a tsunami of contained emotions.
Forgiving those who hurt us is not easy and is often difficult to contemplate. It takes courage to do so.
But forgiving does not mean forgetting. It does not give the offender a clean slate.
Forgiving means that you are willing to let some hurtful language slide by with the caveat that you won’t be so lenient if it happens again.
In life there is an unwritten code of conduct that civilized people go by.
And one of the first rule of that code is not to speak carelessly and hurt people by insensitive remarks.
“A knife wound heals, but a tongue wound festers.” Turkish proverb
Offensive language from a stranger is less hurtful than when coming from somebody you know, but no matter what the source, it hurts.
A responsible adult is somebody who is able to control his thoughts and keep his mouth in check.
Alain