Forgiveness

Some people actually thrive on demanding repeated, shamelessly obligatory "forgiveness." In fact, they need you (me, everyone, really) to good-naturedly overlook their serial transgressions and outright abuse like a vampire needs to force its prey to "donate" even more precious, life-sustaining hemoglobin.

The problem is, however, that most of us normal, healthy human beings only have just so much to give. And I for one just plain ran out of veins to self sacrificially crack open a very, very long time ago. Yes, we should all learn how to genuinely forgive with all our hearts, of course, but you don't have to forget. Not if you don't want to become yet another serial victim, that is.

So whatever you do, please remember that you don't owe anyone a pint of blood (real or psychic) today, or any stinking day of the week, month, or year either. Not ever. Unless you truly, genuinely want to donate blood or plasma, of course. But for that, all one really need do is visit their local chapter of the Red Cross, which is of course something altogether different to begin with.

Either way, I do sincerely believe with all my heart and soul that Jesus Christ really did die for the sins of all mankind (and was subsequently resurrected on the third day). And that means for absolutely everyone everywhere, for all time, past, present, and future notwithstanding. So that's why I also do not believe for even a single millisecond that I, or anyone else for that matter, should be preyed upon by any serially abusive person.

Because Christ already did that for us. All of us.

So if you really do fancy yourself a true "Christian," and you've interpreted the Gospels otherwise (that we should forgive and keep on serially suffering for this or that demonic creep in the guise of a "friend," family member, spouse, etc., etc.), well that might actually just be your very own personal problem. Yes, that may just be your very own flawed, perhaps poorly educated misunderstanding of the genuine Word of God.

And maybe, just maybe, you really ought to take a good long look in the mirror at anyone, absolutely anyone, especially yourself, who honestly thinks that Jesus Christ wasn't truly man and God enough to have fixed that particular, pre-Christian era problem (with every last drop of his sacred blood, and terrible, prolonged suffering) so that he could fulfill what had long before been written, so that He could do just exactly as our Heavenly Father planned from the very beginning, and finally, so that He would therefore truly be with us, "even until the end of the age."

So by all means, we really should forgive all those who trespass against us, just as they really ought to in turn forgive our trespasses against them, but you'll never get me to buy into the clearly predatory notion that God actually intended for absolutely any of his beloved children to suffer unnecessarily if any one of us might serve as the instrument of God, and thereby intercede on His behalf. And that includes us interceding for ourselves in time of great need, if need be.

Because isn't that ultimately why we are all planted down here in the humble mud of Planet Earth in the first place? I mean, if we're not here to help each other (and sometimes, perhaps selfishly, help ourselves as well), then what, I humbly ask, are we actually here for? Only for our very own self gratification, and all others be damned? Uh-uh, no. I think... not. Definitely not. 

So even though we really shouldn't (under normal circumstances) seek revenge to punish our persecutors, and we don't even have to hold onto all that pain, we certainly must be entitled to a certain degree of self protection.

But sure, when it comes to all that personal pain, sure, if we can, we really should just let it go. Let it all go. Because it was never ours to hold onto to begin with. Which, believe me, I know, speaking from my own personal experience, just like so many others who've also been mistreated by various people throughout the course of their lives, all of the above is always so much easier said than done, isn't it?

But with a little (or even a whole lot of) effort, if we really can find it in our hearts to truly forgive, and then just walk away, having learned a thing or two from the hard lessons we were unfortunately forced to learn from being abused by others, then we really should consider ourselves lucky to have survived the ordeal.

Because now, by embracing the true blessings of forgiveness, we're finally free. Free at last, to treat the next person whom we may someday have the misbegotten opportunity to harm in a much better way than how we ourselves were mistreated by key figures in our past lives.

Because as far as I'm concerned, the true test of any human being is how we choose to wield our own personal power. In other words, if you were just a defenseless little child when some so-called "adult" figure, who may have just been on an all too typically childish tirade, chose to use their temporary power over you to get revenge for something or another that an equally misguided so-called "adult" did to them way back in their own troubled past, then what they deliberately chose to do to you says a whole lot more about them than it does about you. Doesn't it?

Thus, in the final analysis, we are all forced to make all sorts of choices, great and small, throughout the course of our lives. For we all possess varying degrees of personal power to either repeat (and thereby pass on) the Cycle of Abuse, or... we can deliberately choose to put a stop to it all. We can literally and finally say to ourselves, "The buck stops here." So we can finally well and truly take a stand, and not unconscionably simply "pass the buck" onto the next generation. And that particular personal choice, right there, my dear readers, is what ultimately makes one a truly good human. Or not.

The Bigger You Get, the Harder You Fall

You know how some (not all) naughty cops allegedly create those "speed traps," where they set up a situation wherein the vast majority of people who enter the area being monitored are almost certainly bound to break the law, just because of the way things are set up?  You know, like how this law enforcement type person then just hides and waits for a perpetrator to come along, so they can conveniently catch, badger, and then write "the bad guys" a ticket?  Well, even when they don't actually write a ticket, they can still get a psychological thrill from self righteously standing in judgement of others.

That's the game.  That's how it works.  'Cause you know, most bullies are just little people deep inside, who were bullied when they were kids.

Now, personally, I'd never want to be a power junkie like that myself.  But I'll just bet that there really is no feeling, no drug, no high on Earth, like having so darned much POWER, that you automatically assume that everybody else is a potential miscreant, while you alone are "one of the good guys."

Interestingly enough, some people don't even use "the law" to be "at large and in charge."  Some use politics.  Some use sex or sexual orientation.  Some use race, ethnicity, or nationality.  Some use religion, of course.  But don't kid yourself.  There are also plenty of "atheists" who use their lack of faith as an excuse to bully, belittle and look down upon anyone who isn't as "skeptical" as they are.

What can ya say?  People!

So, I think plenty of people who aren't cops are natural born control freaks too.  In fact, I think the human social landscape is chock full of people who actually feed on their fellow man!  You know, real "dog eat dog" type stuff.  For example, there are those bossy type people we all know, who always have to be at large and in charge.  The sick high these individuals get from being offended by something someone else has supposedly said or done (no matter how innocent that perceived offense may or may not have been), is all that really matters to them.  That self righteous power fix, that mental opiate... is exactly what some sick people really do seem to crave and practically live for.

And believe me, I know, because I've known quite a few people like that.  Unfortunately.

At any rate, an excellent term for individuals who fit the above profile is, "psychic vampire."  Interestingly enough, many of these type of folks don't even realize what they're doing on a conscious level.  The fact that they tend to get their jollies by sucking the air out of everyone in every room they walk into, is a moot point to them.  In fact, these folks are often just plain oblivious to the needs and feelings of just about everyone else around them.  Because their needs and wants are all that matter, you see.  In short, that type of person is little more than a psychological predator.

And just about everybody knows somebody like that, don't they?  Somebody that, if they aren't the center of attention, and they're not calling the shots, they simply aren't going to be real happy for long.  Not until they've got something... anything to be pissed off about, that is.  After all, there must be someone to blame!  Offense is power, you see.  Being offended is actually as equally empowering as deliberately going out and giving offense.  But only for especially sick people, of course.

So, what's the moral of this story?  "Stay away from negative people," I guess.  And whenever possible, I most certainly do.