An interview with God

I dreamed I had an interview with God.

"So you would like to interview me?" God asked.

"If you have the time"

God smiled. "My time is eternity. What questions do you have in mind for me?"

"What surprises you most about humankind?"

God answered, "That they get bored with childhood, they rush to grow up, and then long to be children again.

"That they lose their health to make money.... and then lose their money to restore their health.

"That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live in neither the present nor the future.

"That they live as if they'll never die, and die as though they had never lived."

God's hand took mine and we were silent for a while.

And then I asked, "As a parent, what are some of life's lessons you want your children to learn?"

"To learn they cannot make anyone love them. All they can do is let themselves be loved. To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others. To learn to forgive by practising forgiveness. To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in those they love, and it can take many years to heal them. To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least. To learn that there are people who love them dearly, but simply have not yet learned how to express or show their feelings. To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it differently. To learn that it is not enough that they forgive one another, but they must also forgive themselves."

"Thank you for your time," I said humbly. "Is there anything else you would like your children to know?"

God smiled and said, "Just know that I am here.... always."

I came across this article and thought it contained a profound insight into life, and lessons that I for one would like to apply to my life. The beauty of this article being that it isn't just applicable to those among us who consider themselves to be spiritual or religious but for everyone. Love, worries and forgiveness are things that everybody experiences, and sometimes struggle with, in their lives.

In my recovery, I realised that holding in feelings of resentment and malice towards others, whether they actually deserved it or not, did nothing to harm anybody but myself. It was MY development in life that was held back by MY actions in not forgiving others, realising this and putting this model of forgiveness into action was self-empowering and an essential part of my recovery. I spent the darkest years of my addiction hating myself, I wouldn't even look in the mirror for many years, I have come a long way since those days but forgiving myself is something I still struggle with at times. When that happens I take a step back and assess my life, reminding myself how far I've come and that I can't change the past, I can only shape the future with my actions in the here and now.

Thanks to Joy Magazine.