Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.

Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses. – Confucius

I have a question to poesie to you: Can you forget really bad puns and other injuries, but always remember acts of kindness? I do hope so!

What does that mean?
This is a beautiful quote, for its shortness, its symmetry, and its heart. Injuries can be dealt with in many ways, but they boil down to two basic ways. You remember them, or you forget them. The minor injuries, based on our values, are the easiest to forget. The big ones are a little tougher to forget, right?

However the quote also urges us to never forget a kindness. And we tend to get what we focus on, in a consistent manner. If we stay focused on acts of kindness we have received, we will more easily see kindness done by others both to ourselves and to others.

To me, the best possible thing to come of this quote is the chance that we might even become so focused on seeing acts of kindness, that we begin to see opportunities for us to perform an act of kindness. Wouldn’t that be awesome? I certainly think that it is.

Why is forgetfulness or forgiveness important?  
I’m not sure what the exact translation is for this quote, but I would tend to use forgive instead of forget, even if it does damage the symmetry just a little bit. I don’t want to have the same injury, so I would want to be cautious of a person and their motives, but I would want to forgive them. Do you see the difference?

If you focus on the way you have been injured, you will likely never forgive the other person. By focusing on the injury you received, whether real or perceived, you will ferment resentment into anger, and distill anger into hatred. Perhaps even to the point of violence. I would not like to travel that path, would you?

Instead, if you can forgive them, and let the injury they caused you to fade, so too will the resentment, and you will never start down the path of anger. To me, that is the more prudent course of action, and a very wise thing to do. The question is will you do it, for there is no try.

Where can I apply this in my life?
This is another interesting philosophical concept. Most of us view a circle as a perfect shape in geometry, an elegant shape in art, and a great pattern for improvement. However, I find it to be a rather lousy pattern for kindness.

If I do a kindness to someone, and they do a kindness for me, the circle is complete. Each of us has been lifted a little by the kindness, but now it is over, the circle is complete and the kindness has run its course. Efficient, yes, but kind of short lived.

Instead, I prefer the shape of a jagged lightning bolt, forking and splitting repeatedly along its length. If I do a kindness to someone, I usually ask them to do a kindness in turn to someone else. I also hope that the other person will enjoy doing kindness so much that they do it more than once.

If each person only does two kindnesses, you have the equivalent of a nuclear chain reaction. However, instead of destruction, you have something far nicer when it goes off. Most people won’t do much in the way of kindness, but others will do quite a few. How does that compare to our circle?

How easy would it be to do a kindness to anyone if you are remembering injuries done to you? Even if they weren’t the person responsible, is all your heart available to power the act of kindness, or will your effort be (by definition) half-hearted, since some of your heart harbors resentment for the injuries done?

Does the reason for needing to forget the injuries as well as never forgetting kindnesses make a little more sense now? By focusing on the good things and ignoring the less pleasant things, your heart is enlarged and made whole, happy, and generous.

By remembering every kindness you have participated in or seen, you begin to feel kindness run through every part of you. The only thing that can stop this is the harboring of resentments, which hardens and places limits on the ability of your heart to be kind.

Personally, I know what I do (as much as I can), even with those who have hurt me deeply. In this manner, I keep my heart from hardening, and keep it as open as possible for the kindness to grow within me.

Are you willing to take this path, and walk the path of kindness and forgiveness? It won’t always be easy, and I imagine you’ll find yourself off the path from time to time. But will you get back on it, or will you let resentment, anger, and hatred fill your heart instead?

From: Twitter, @Sports_HQ
confirmed at : http://thinkexist.com/quotation/forget_injuries-never_forget/198368.html
Photo by katerha