Forgiveness and Moving Forward

I've been reading Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz, M.D., F.I.C.S.  Chapter 10 deals with  forgiveness.  Specifically, unloading the things which are keeping you from going where you want to go.

An aircraft has a weight limit.  It's a number which, when exceeded, makes it impossible for the aircraft to become airborne.  In order to take to the air, baggage will need to be removed to lighten the weight of the cargo.  Under a full load, the aircraft climbs at one rate.  With no cargo at all, it climbs much more quickly.  It is the purpose of aircraft to be in the air, because there they are able to achieve their purpose of moving forward at a greater rate of speed, seeing farther, and reaching new heights.

Carrying emotional baggage is much the same.  Too much of it holds you in place.  Remembered failures lead to a fear of trying rather than an adjustment in procedure for the next attempt.  A past soured relationship causes emotional distress in new ones.  Grasping too firmly at our past leaves us unable to plant our feet in today and reach for tomorrow.  A favorite trite saying: "The past is history, the future is mystery, and today is the gift we call the present." 

So, the way to move forward needs a sense of closure for the past.  Going over an event again and again is resentment, meaning "to feel again."  Here prayer becomes crucial.  We ask god to forgive the person or event, and we ask to be delivered from it.  We seek help when we need it, in order to be done with this thing and move forward.  Nobody promises easy, but the results will astound you.

An airplane is designed to carry cargo, you may be thinking, quite correctly.  Proper placement of the cargo balances out the aircraft, and careful adherence to the limitations of performance capabilities allows that airplane to carry some cargo and move upward and onward.  The lighter the load, the quicker and ascent, and the further the distance traveled. 

Pray.  Ask forgiveness for yourself.  Forgive others.  Give grace where grace was given, and give grace to those who don't deserve it.  Pour out more of yourself than others pour in, and you will find that god will continue to fill you if you ask.