Motion for Reconciliation

I was reminded of the time during the Pass & Review practice during the CWTS period. There was a bitter dispute between a good friend of mine, who is an officer, and my platoon mates, including me. It is because the officer who handled our platoon was somewhat harsh to us. To put it bluntly, he was inconsiderate since he didn’t care too much about our conditions. What trigged our anger was when he gave us 36 bummers for being lousy. And so my platoon mates became furious, and so as he (the officer). At the end of the period, there was a "hot battle" between the officer and us. The girls kept on wailing and complaining because their bodies where exhausted and aching. I was torn into two since the two parties who were fighting were both my friends. All I did was to comfort the girls in the platoon. I also got mad to the officer (and also a good friend of mine) because of what he did to us. But, I never held grudges, although I wanted to hit him because of it. However, I also pity him because at that time, he was ALONE. Though his girlfriend was there to calm him down, I felt his despair. To think, it was like him versus almost everyone of our batch mates. I could understand why everyone of us got mad to him. Everyone was blinded with fury and apprehension. Some of the girls even fainted because of that. The atmosphere at that time of the afternoon was awfully gloomy.

So you see, one wrong move could ruin such friendship.

I do think that at that time, everyone of us was feeling extremities of being sad, angry, or disappointed. So, we have to cool down, at least, just to ease the pain and to settle things later.

And, what’s next?

At some point, some of us believe that in forgiving people, we turn out to be "holy" or "spiritual". But there’s a more good reason why WE SHOULD forgive people. It’s not about the enemy’s sake, but for our own good, too.

According to Andrew Matthews, the author of New York’s bestseller book "Happiness in a Nutshell", when we don’t forgive people, WE RUIN OUR LIVES!

Now, here’s a vivid but brief explanation about this (courtesy of Mr. Matthews):

Let's say:
a) you are my boss and you give me the sack, or
b) you are my girl, and you run off with my buddy.
So I say, "I'll never forgive you for that!"
Who suffers? Not you!
I'm pacing the floor. I've got the knot in my stomach. I'm losing sleep. You are probably out partying!
Where do we get the idea that if WE don't forgive people, THEY suffer? It's nuts!
Recent studies at the Public Health Institute in California confirm that hostility and resentment tear down your immune system and double your risk of heart attack, cancer and even diabetes. Bitterness makes you sick!
To forgive someone, you don't have to agree with what they did. You just have to want your life to work.
In a Nutshell
Is it easy? Usually not. But you don't forgive people for their benefit. You do it for your benefit.

So you see, there’s more to life than to keep on whining, crying, complaining, blaming, arguing, and condemning people. And what hurts the most is when we hold grudges inside of us and then eventually never forgive the people who inflicted such pain on us. Though it’s not easy to forgive right away, I think it’s be better if we do… you know why? IT’S FOR OUR OWN GOOD! If we don’t forgive people, we make our lives miserable. And before we know it, we’re creating danger all along.

I’ve already forgiven my friend, who was the officer. I know he just made a wrong move, and I think he already suffered the consequences of what he did.
I hope you could also forgive the people like I do. Believe me, it’s a good feeling…