Your Space in my Blog: 5th of March 2009

March 5, 2009 by

This space is for you to share your ideas on anything that you consider relevant today.

You can publish here excerpts from your blogs or news and articles in general that you think make a difference to the world today. Try to make a bit of editing on what you post here – try to highlight passages with copy-paste, rather than simply giving links.

Please keep in mind that this blog is currently viewed by 230.000 unique visitors a month, and chances are that many of them are going to read your thoughts.

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Guilt and forgiveness – Part 1

March 5, 2009 by

Paulo Coelho

During his pilgrimage to Mecca, a holy man was suddenly aware of God’s presence beside him. He fell into a trance, knelt down, hid his face and prayed:

‘Lord, I ask only one thing in my life, that You give me the grace never to offend You.’

‘I cannot give you that grace,’ replied the Almighty.

Surprised, the man asked why.

‘If you never offend me, I will have no reason to forgive you,’ he heard the Lord say. ‘And if I have no need to forgive you, you will soon forget the importance of being merciful to others. Therefore, continue on your way with Love, and allow me to forgive you now and then, so that you do not forget this virtue either.’

The story clearly illustrates our own problems with guilt and forgiveness. When we were children, we would often overhear our mother saying: ‘My child only behaved foolishly because he got into bad company. He’s a very good boy really.’

And so we never took responsibility for our actions, never asked for forgiveness and ended up forgetting that we must also be generous with those who offend us. The act of forgiveness has nothing to do with feelings of guilt or cowardice: we all make mistakes and it is only by occasionally stumbling that we can improve and progress. On the other hand, if we are too tolerant of our own behaviour – especially when this hurts other people – we become isolated and incapable of correcting our path.

How can we drive out guilt, but at the same time be capable of asking forgiveness for any mistakes we make?

There are no easy formulas, but there is good sense: we should judge the results of our actions and not the intentions behind them. Deep down, everyone is good, but that is irrelevant and will not heal any wounds we might inflict.

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Wizard of Id

March 5, 2009 by

Wizard of Id

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Quote of the Day

March 5, 2009 by

Paulo Coelho

Before there was a proper understanding and a sense of God’s presence, the idea that everything would one day end was utterly desolating.
(The Alchemist)

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Filed Under: Stories

Today’s Question by the reader : Gilles

March 5, 2009 by

God has always talked to you, Sir. What has He been telling you that you have not yet told us yet? And why is it that we are not hearing Him – are we deaf?

God is constantly talking to all of us, not only with me. The great problem is that we are not listening to Him.

I do believe that everything we see, everything that is in front of us is just the visible part of reality. But there’s also an invisible part that is ruled by emotions, feelings. This is our perception of the world, but God is–as William Blake said–in a grain of sand and in a flower. This energy is everywhere.

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The Winner Stands Alone – Eleventh Chapter

March 5, 2009 by

To read “Eleventh Chapter” of Paulo Coelho’s latest book “The Winner Stands Alone”, please click here.

Filed Under: Stories