Welcoming Syawal; Forgiveness?

Salam & good day,

A couple of days to come, - syawal is welcoming us. It reminds me of my good old days. Means, new baju raya, rendang, ketupat, sate, lontong, and nasi dagang. When i meet my elder relatives, i will shake hands, asking for forgiveness, and expecting big-fat RM ang pow. The end of the day, i will count that duit raya ...... it was fun. (still it is, heh..heh..heh). As time flies, and many years later (many many years later) i still shake hands with all relatives, friends, anybody .. but now i have to give that big-fat RM ang pow to the young ones, or needy ones. But, when i shake hands, asking for forgiveness, i will always wonder, did i convey my true intention, that i'm really seeking their forgiveness, looking into their eyes, or just shake hands ? Shaking hands and seeking for a forgiveness it is not a Hari Raya ritual, but it is more than that.

Well, when we really mean it to forgive others, could we do better than that, rather than a typical raya's chore, especially when it comes to forgive and forget. Simply, forgiving is extremely difficult. Everyone says forgiveness is the best idea, until they have something to forgive. It is a typical cliche' "forgive and forget" and i can say that forgetting part is the most impossible part to make it true. While many people claim to be able to forgive and forget, there is the one little biological hardware which hangs over our heads called memory, which constantly reminds us, recall back all those horrific feelings.

Do not try to do this ! ......

My point is, rather than being of crying "poor me", and thinking "they did not deserve my forgiveness", it will be much better to create a thought process in which we begin to realize that everyone is human, everyone makes mistakes, and we are in this world to make it a better place, not to dislike each other. Insya' Allah, in this blessed month, but not only in this month, we will take the time to sit back, look at ourselves, and also try our best to be patient and strong when it comes to our situations and scuffles. If we can come out with thousands of reasons of not to forgive, how about just have a reason why you should forgive. Forgiveness, a small step for you, a huge leap to others – be the first! Remember to smile, look into their eyes, and shake hands with your true intention. God knows!

Pakcik said: Old pain that keep on hitting you down. You just have to ride it out, and hope the wound that caused it heals. There are no solutions, no easy answers. Most of the time pain can be managed but sometimes the pain gets you where you least expect it. Yup, time to forgive and forget, i guess it will make the wound heals faster than we could ever imagined.

* May we will encounter the night of a thousand months.