Dr. Bob was gnawing at forgiveness not long ago. His ruminations on the need for action, for active reconciliation with those we have forgiven and those from whom we need forgiveness, is a theme I've long contemplated. I understand the principle, but falter in the action.
I made two recent attempts to forgive and to reconcile with those who I had hurt and who I believe had hurt me. I reached out to both persons and asked for their forgiveness. In the first case, the respondent told me that they had forgiven and forgotten within minutes following the offense. They had forgotten all about it until I resurrected the memory, and they didn't intend to waste "negative energy" discussing it further. The second responded that for the life of them, they couldn't recall who I was and that perhaps I'd gotten my e-mail addresses mixed up. I laughed out loud at that response and thought: "well played."
It's time to move on down the road, away from the self-indulgent attempts at reconciliation. If someone believes that anything I've said or done in the past might have hurt them, they are more than welcome to contact me and ask for an apology. I will gladly give it. On the other hand, I don't intend to pester people in displays of what apparently is rank self-importance. I must have been a fairly ineffective offender, most likely more of a scourge in my own mind than in the minds of anyone I thought I offended.
There's nothing worse than apologizing for an offense that's been long forgotten and was never been more than of a passing interest to the supposed "offendee."
Life continues to humble me, and that's a very, very good thing.
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