Forgive

 
Who writes 'forgive' on a sidewalk?

I couldn't help but think of five different scenarios to cause it.  Put the plausible stories aside and think about how many people run across this message.  Walking along, happy, tired, angry, bored, or drunk, and see a directive to let go of grudges and pains inflicted and let go of the pain and resentment.

As children, we are all taught this and as adults, we pass this lesson along to children.  The lesson of letting go enters our lives and leave multiple times before ever truly taking it in and acting on it.  It cannot be done by others nor can it be done for others.  So maybe this word on the sidewalk is to remind us to do it for ourselves.

Now, put away the philosophy.  I came across this statement while on an anger and frustration fueled walk.  It's my method of calming the brain and re-centering my thoughts.  So I was in the middle of the walk when I took the photo.

I had been heading out on a date a few weeks ago.  Not to get into details, on my way to the date I realized that this date was no good.  He was going to drag me down, unhinge my confidence, and take advantage of my character.  Not to say he was a monster of a guy, just one a loser.   He was a guy I wouldn't want any of my friends to date, so why was I heading out to meet him?  I cancelled in as nice of way as possible and taking all of the blame before getting off the phone.

After the photo, one might expect me to forgive the guy who started my walk.   For a moment, I considered it.  Then I rejected it.  While I could forgive the guy, it does not mean returning to the same relationship.  That memory serves as a lesson in life and character.  Some people are not healthy, some people are not good for you, and some people will not be good to you.   And I decided to forgive myself for every letting that kind of person far enough into my life to take up memory space in my phone.

I forgave and then deleted.