By Paulo Coelho
The following prayer was found amongst the personal belongings of a Jew who died in a concentration camp:
Lord, when you come in Your glory, do not remember only the men of good, but remember too the men of evil.
And on the Day of Judgement, do not remember only the acts of cruelty, inhumanity and violence that they carried out, but remember too the fruits that they produced in us because of what they did to us. Remember the patience, courage, brotherly love, humility, generosity of spirit and faithfulness that our executioners awoke in our souls.
And then, Lord, may those fruits be used to save the souls of those men of evil.
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The City where I live has turned evil. I wish I had the power to make it good again. It started with our water, we couldn’t drink it because of the pollution in the lake (i got very sick, I still am), then murders, rapes, indecency, heroin, gangs, strange car crashes you know the rest. I know where God is, I can’t tell you, but all I know is that we need to save ourselves, and be quick about it.
I live in Ireland if you are wondering. Keep praying that is all you need to do.
This is a deep and powerful story. I have prayed that those that have caused monsterous pain and suffering to another being beg for God’s forgiveness and change their ways, and if they can’t see what they have done then let men’s justice take over.
I will say a prayer Kealan.
Well, I will smudge and pray for my Irish brother; my roots are in County Kerry. Sounds like your city is like mine and to many others. We live in interesting times.
The Daily Message resonates within. Many years ago I made a sacred promise to live ‘the forgiveness challenge’. It’s not fun or easy. Virtually everyone who learns that I take seriously the necessity to forgive, is stunned and often nasty.
Hey, I am not responsible for natural law. I’ve made peace with the fact that lots of challenges simply aren’t optional;we pay dearly for refusal to ‘declare’ challenges are optional and only the hopelessly naive accept such challenges.
Draw whatever conclusions you want, but I refuse to allow anything or anyone to have the ability to imprison me by controlling my experience. If I decide somebody crossed THE line that entitles everyone to use their ‘revenge indulgence’ (for non-Catholics…it’s like a get out of jail free card or a ‘God has made an exception on this on’ card) before long natural law clobbers me with reality–everything must be forgiven
If people had an operational definition of forgiveness that disabused people of the forgiveness ‘myths’(eg.I must force myself to have warm fuzzy feelings toward the offender…+ 100 others)more people would accept these challenges as unavoidable facts of life.
Personally, I imagine giving the forgiving Jew a silent sober brief embrace for a job well done….no, there are no words to explain any of it. The eye contact would transport us out of time , if only for a moment, before s/he passed into Eternity
Many kudos for this story.
The great man had crossed the abyss, and saw that good came out of evil and thus that those very terms dissolved.
Indeed, forgiveness is the only albeit a very difficult way, it is a law of nature.
He/she was a very positive person.
I feel that it’s important to forgive yourself for the bad things you did,
then you can face evil as a friend and your fear will change into love
which will attract the enemy
because opposites attract.
Then we can share the fruit of our harvest
which will give the taste of love,
water and fire will merge together in one and will stream to oneness…
So let’s start to forgive ourselves.
Love
Hildegarde
I’m sorry I have to write in portuguese, it’s easier that way to stand out my point of view. I hope you’ll understand…
Só o Homem que conheceu a maldade, se conhece a si próprio. Só o Homem que viveu sobre a maldade conhece o poder desta sobre os seus semelhantes. Todos nós somos maus por natureza, todos ferimos, todos atacamos, todos magoamos e, no entanto, todos temos gente que nos ama, gente que amamos, esperando por nós em casa dia após dia. Como se explica? Dizem que é natural. E é.
Mas volto a dizer, só quem vive debaixo da maldade se conhece, só esses, as vÃtimas, têm uma decisão real sobre as mãos. Castigar ou perdoar.
Se eu sofri, se eu chorei, devo desejar esse mesmo mal a outro, seja ele quem for? Não.
Quem é Homem o suficiente para perdoar o valor da sua alma, da sua vida, é Homem que se conhece. É Ãntegro. É porque viveu e conheceu valores mais altos, mais poderosos, menos mesquinhos que a vingança.
Tudo tem o seu reverso na medalha. O Mal também.
O que seria o mundo sem Mal?
Um caos, de certeza.
The reason why i don’t usually take God directly under my conserns is that i do belive there is a higher power, i don’t belive in life after death and i belive that if their is a God he will let all people imn to heaven because all people are good deep inside, and thoose who arn’t “good” wil be taken with open arms an huged, cause it’s petty on them, and they are stronger then the rest of uss.
What wonderful words!
I love you Paulo because you speak like a Saint…Every time I read your books or your words , I don’t understand you with my mind, but with my heart…
I love you very much.Thank you.
Butterfy
I may write like a saint, but I assure you that I am a sinner, Butterfly
bo0om paulo,,,->
what is us?
whom do we reflect ??
why do we do (& did) what we do ???
have we become so insensitive to ourselves ,
the chemical haze is where.
all the above mentioned horrors were & are, a result of governments ( or individuals ) being to mechanical, where has all the human warmth gone ???
wake up my friends , if you love gen on back to earthly trance, a leaf,a mush but let the trips be natural.
a natural take off, flight ,and smooth natural landings ( all the chemicals breaking down back to mother ).
itz time we let our compassion flow,,,
turn on your Heart_Light,
tune in , let the sound take over,
and our balance be natural,
love,
more love,,
and ___ ,,,
bo0om
fLUXman
(sorry Serene, I had to edit the first sentence…)
Paulo, when I read your message today, I had imagined it was my mother from another world speaking directly to me. You often have that effect.
The title, it reminded me of how friends and elders often remind me to be wary of bad men - to continue to be caring, generous, free, but not so trusting as to trust anyone who comes along. It wasn’t so much a reminder to me, as it was a gesture of affection, which had been important to me today.
Much love, support and presence to someone who creates space in the world!! Keep up the magic!
Well then I forgive you.
love
Hildegarde
Dear Paulo,
You are absolutely correct. Some bad acts cause producing nice fruits but are those people deserve reward for their bad behavior?
I have a similar unforgettable experience in my life and I am really thankful of those people but I am not sure if they deserve any appreciation for their bad behavior.
I whish I could be as positive as you are.
I whish the best for them fore their positive effects on my life but what do they deserve?
Love,
Naghmeh
Do good for your own good. I totally agree with hildegarde… good day everyone…. ïŠ
Dear Paulo
I have always believed that one should forgive the people who try to do bad in this world because they probably are not aware of the harm they are doing to themselves.
Some people don’t understand my views but I hope you do.
Inma
Dearest Paulo,
Good and evil are bond together- for one cannot exist without the other. There are many instances in life that good comes out of evil, this is one of them. For the victim and the inflicter, forgiveness seems to set you free from the prison they create within themselves.
I must admit though, i’ve lived in an country where the crime is one of the highest in the world. Everyone lives in fear here. Its gotten to the point where if someone is hijacked or robbed, we just thank God they are alive. The say that they are lucky. Its so ironic because we’ve now accepted the some of these acts of crime itself. People have become savages, the not only kill, but torture people for no reason. They rape not only young woman but also old ladies and babies. Babies!!! And if you had to defend yourself, and shoot someone in self defense on your property, you would be charged for murder! Its ridiculous! Sometimes, i just wonder really what this world is coming to. As much as i know that good can out of evil, and i’ve learnt the concepts, i find myself wondering sometimes what kind of people out there are out there. What kind of person will burn another with a hot iron?! What kind of person will brutally rape an innocent baby or a grandmother?!
It shocks me sometimes- for i myself do not understand how you can possibly hurt another human being intentionally. I really pray that more good comes out than evil. I pray that victims have the strength to face tomorrow, and that Inflicters learn to love, and i also pray for forgiveness and acceptance.
Thank you for being
Yajna
There is a purpouse in everything that happens. sooner we see it better for us. I reda what u wrote Paulo, it’s damn positive of that guy, but somehow one line from an old Indian poet is buzzing in my mind as I reda about forgiveness, lines were in hindi, a translation would be “Forgivenes suites those who are in a position to do anything otherwise, for someone who is half dead, what is the use of saying s/he forgives” a similar sentiment is expressed in the epic Ramayana, when Rama is trying to appease the oceans for a passage. then again Zesus comes to mind, who chose to forgive his worst tormentors and that too when he was nailed to the cross.
forgiveness does take away a big burden off one’s soul !
“remember too the fruits that they produced in us because of what they did to usâ€
This story resonates with my heart and with the personal moments I am going trough.
Facing relationship loss and so much confusion I looked at my life and the first overwhelming thought was anger seeing all the wrong things brought by others as I grew up: the endless violence, the religious wars, the constant displays of hate, fear and manipulation, and the absence of any form of love.
This may be my past, not who I am. Because of it, I’ve come to an understanding of human nature that I cherish, I’ve learned genuine things don’t ever need to be manipulated, I can connect with people beyond their religion, or background, and I could never imagine my life without love, I feel happy to have loved and generated love in others.
Fear of my past may have brought fear of present, but love of present is bringing love of the future.
Thank you for reminding me of that, Paulo.
With respect,
Anlao.
do not give sorrow and do not take sorrow.. let the world be a peaceful place for everybody..
love all
That is beautiful.
Let the love we have save those who were not fortunate enough to experience it.
de amor se faz amor
de nada mais resulta amor
que amor se faz de amor
de nada mais.
resulta amor de amor
que amor se faz de nada
mais resulta que amor de amor
se faz amor de nada.
mais.
E.M. de Melo e Castro
Obrigada por iluminar a minha vida
Myzpax