Forgive and Forget

It's funny how memory works differently for different people. I had someone tell me today that he has a really tough time forgetting injustices or wrongs or even irritations that he has experienced and that these things take up a lot of energy and he would like to be rid of them but they stick around for years. I listened and tried to sympathise but could not understand as fully as I wished in order to enter into the feeling and help bear it. I have felt injustice in the past and there are a few painful moments in my life that still pop up every once in a while in my memory but for the most part I tend to forget much of the pain in the past and simply retain a general picture of happiness. I believe most people tend towards this pattern of memory retention. But I wonder which extreme is better? Or can one be said to be better than the other in this case? I believe my way of enjoying and living in the moment bearing mostly happy memories feeds into my joy and makes me enjoy life even more. It also seems to line up with the wisdom in the adage 'forgive and forget'. But while thinking these happy thoughts about my happy state to myself I suddenly wondered whether I truly, in cases of interpersonal conflict etc, did forgive the other person before I forgot about how they had 'wronged' me. Or maybe I just forgot so I didn't have to forgive. "Oh, don't worry about it" or "forget about it" are things I often say when someone asks forgiveness and I truly mean that I am not holding on to a grudge or the pain but is this really enough? I am not one to put much stake in a formula. I don't think that saying the words "I forgive you" means anything more than other words or actions to express the same forgiving heart. I also try to avoid the pitfall of letting the words mask a contrary heart. But maybe by avoiding the cliché I have also thrown the baby out. Maybe I am not putting in the effort needed truly to forgive someone (even when they themselves ask me to!) but rather avoiding the whole interaction by masking it with other words. I really do think that I tend to forget so that I do not have to forgive but there is much wisdom in the wording of that phrase. Only once forgiveness has taken place is it safe to forget. I'm going to try to remember this.

MA

I have printed off my last two papers, am waiting to see when I can drop them off and have just applied to graduate! Wahoo!

busy bee

It's been so long since I last wrote that I almost forgot where to go to find my blog. I think I may safely say that this week is the busiest, or at least has the most going on activity- and emotionally-wise that I have ever experienced so far. When I start to feel guilty about going on here rather than digging into that list of things to do, though, I realize that maybe it is important to sit down and process a little first.

It hasn't had any air-time in these pages yet but I am one week away from finishing all my work for my MA in English. I'm glad it's almost done because I have been so busy and occupied with other things the past little while but at the same time I will certainly miss being in school. I don't have plans for any further formal education in the near future and I know I am going to miss it sorely.

Another sad ending that I can hardly see through the work it'll take to get there is that we have to be moved out of the college building by the end of this week. Do you have any idea how much stuff [junk] can be stored in a building that had students living here a year at a time and leaving behind various unwanted items as they packed to leave? Or even how many things get accumulated by the college itself that it will no longer need (or at least not worthwhile enough to keep during a complicated move... if it's needed at the other end it can be purchased at that point). Do you have any idea how complicated the decision process is around all these items when each is to be evaluated and discerned where it should go? Ahh! I can't wait until it's done but once it is done that will be the end of the Blackburn experience for us all. I do actually love this building although I know it's time to move on. It will be a hard transition.

On top of all this are plans for the future (which I'm hoping to be able to push back to next week to deal with... 'can I pencil you in for next Wedneday?') and people waiting to hear the results of those plans.

Then my Gma, with whom I lived for all my undergrad years, has just suffered a stroke. This has been a shock to all, I believe, especially because prior to this she has maintained wonderful health and was a few days away from a road trip down to Omaha (to give an indication of her life and adventurous spirit). It's been a hard week and a half for all concerned and if there are any out there who still read this I would certainly ask for prayers during this whole ordeal.

I don't know exactly why I am writing this post but I felt like updating again so that's my life at this point in a nutshell. I am beginning to believe that everyone is right when they say that life never slows down, it only speeds up. That's definitely been my experience so far!