Tuesday, August 29, 2006
more from "Respecting The Enemy"
When I was a child, the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, and I rejoiced. As I remember the event today, however, I do not rejoice. The Japanese are not my enemies, and I do not understand what it means to win a war. That event is not over for me. People who are physically deformed because of that bomb still live in Hiroshima, and nuclear power is still a concept I wrestle with.
Chronological time is deceptive. It gives us the impression that an event is over and done with if it happened sometime in the past. In the present, though, when it is called to memory, the past can grow and expand.
If I still feel hurt or resentment, I have not grown or allowed the event to transform me. Feelings that are remembered rather than felt indicate that the past has grown in me and that I have changed. This is a moment of grace. It means that relationships can be healed even if the loved one is dead or out of contact. There is no need to live with regrets for love not given or for forgiveness withheld.
Pray the News
Chronological time is deceptive. It gives us the impression that an event is over and done with if it happened sometime in the past. In the present, though, when it is called to memory, the past can grow and expand.
If I still feel hurt or resentment, I have not grown or allowed the event to transform me. Feelings that are remembered rather than felt indicate that the past has grown in me and that I have changed. This is a moment of grace. It means that relationships can be healed even if the loved one is dead or out of contact. There is no need to live with regrets for love not given or for forgiveness withheld.
Pray the News
