Forgiveness Is

Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past

                                                                Jack Kornfield, A Lamp in the Darkness, p. 36

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walking down the road

left foot

right food

breathe in

breathe out

and then it is there

that memory of

that moment

that choice

that action

I want a mulligan, Lord

I want to go back

and make better choices

I want my past to be so much better

with less anger

fewer mistakes

fewer regrets

there are so many places where I could have

chosen more wisely

spoken more gently

behaved with more restraint

where I could have been more truthful

but I must let go

of that which lies behind

if I am to move freely into what is ahead

I must let go of my own failures

my own mistakes

and yes, I must let go

of the failures and mistakes of others

the past will never get better

but the future

is wide

open