“When a deep injury is done to us, we never recover until we forgive” – Alan Paton.

First, let us agree that nothing is impossible. Earth orbits the sun at an average speed of 107,000 kilometers per hour. We are on this little ball whizzing around in an unimaginably large space and have no fundamental understanding of why. Instead, we think about who said what, who did what, when our Amazon package will arrive, and what we will wear today. I’m curious why we never look up and think, “Hmm, this is odd. I wonder if there is more to this picture than what I have defined for myself”.

As far as we know, there are three components to our human existence: one is the body or lifeform we inhabit, two is the mind, which consists of all we have experienced to date and a heck of a lot of illusory stories, and three is the spirit, which tends to live in the shadow of the egoic mind.

The more I learn about how my ego functions, the more I believe it is the root cause of my and the world’s disharmony. Our spirit is where our essence resides. Bestowed upon us by the creator, it tells us we will always be loved and safe.  Unfortunately, the unhealthy part of our ego blurs the spirit with layer upon layer of grievances; our inability to forgive causes us to lose sight of our innate nature. If only we could return to our essence of safety and love, we, in turn, would recognize that the same components exist in all beings. We would no longer hold grudges and judge. We would see another’s inability to live from their safety and love as their call for help instead of a reason to attack them.

This could be humanity’s next evolutionary step: to see beyond each other’s egos to our true nature. Perhaps the world’s unrest would be healed if we could learn to forgive each other. The stories of the unhealthy ego are relentless and contain a judgment and reaction to absolutely everything. Learning to see these egoic reactions as a way for me to get closer to my spirit allows me to welcome such events and stir from my slumber. The more I can accomplish this, the more my ego will be diminished, and the lighter my spirit will become.

Retirement will see me continuing to seek my way back to the beginning and hopefully spreading some breadcrumbs for others to follow.