Our choice, our attention


Envy and wrath shorten the life.   – Ecclesiasticus
All of us have a need to forgive, whether in large or small matters. All of us suffer little irritating pinpricks every day. It is not very effective to analyze these small wrongs and then forgive them one by one. Much more effective is not to dwell on them at all.
Whenever a stray bit of wrath arises and wants to talk over some incident from the past, don’t invite that thought in.
When we can withdraw our attention completely from the past, it is not possible to get resentful; it is not possible to be oppressed by mistakes in our past, no matter who made them. All our attention is in the present, which makes every moment fresh, every relationship fresh. Staleness and boredom vanish from our life.
I love this insight from the teacher, Easwaran. He is reaffirming that we do not have any need of the resentments and slights that we may perceive have been directed towards us. Little things can accumulate into outbursts of anger and discord...or seething irritation. The recent example of the gunman who acted out his rage in Oregon is a display of the lack of control he had over his thought life. A lack of control over one's thoughts is truly insanity.
Thanks be to God that we do have a choice.
We can choose to simply let the negative emotions go. The past is the past. Let it stay in the past. I can thrive and grow-today, in the present.

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