Godly love is the ability to forgive over and over again. Really forgive, not taking it personally, detaching, truly understanding the other person’s perspective (being able to fully put yourself in their shoes with total empathy). It’s about total realization of their actions, moving through your anger, hurt, grief, sadness, loss, etc. and letting the attachment to those emotions, feelings and thoughts go.
I can easily understand the ‘real’ concept of forgiveness when I apply this to my children. I think God gives us a built in forgiveness button as parents. It is much more difficult to embrace forgiveness when it comes to a spouse , old love relationship, friend or coworker.
A thoughtless comment, betrayal of trust, unkind action or deliberate concealment of the truth are all grounds for resentment and can send my mind in a tail spin. This is where I fire up my yoga practice. And, I am not talking about asana, although that can be helpful. I am talking about the active conscious practice of living yoga. During these times, I have to go deep inside and connect to a level of awareness that allows me to see the ‘why’ behind the actions. Anything negatively perceived is grounded in Avidya (the cloud of ignorance) that keeps me grounded on a lower level of self. But avidya can be used as a tool for self-study (svadhyaya) to understand why someone might say something unkind, or cheat on you, or do something that excludes you, or lie. Avidya is always coloring thoughts with the habits of seeking love and acceptance, attachment to things desired, rejecting experiences you perceive as negative and fear of loss or being abandoned, alone, and even death.
When I can completely put myself in their situation with FULL COMPASSION, I understand. When I understand, I become forgiving. And through the process of my practice, I come to a place of GODLY LOVE. Practice yoga and practice love.
Susan Smith, April 8, 2016
