Suppose one undertook the discipline of speaking only what one knew was given to speak? How quiet our homes, our churches and work places would be. Our society plays very loose with words, with talk; yet there is little silence, and silence is where meaning comes from.
Forgiveness is the treatment and the conditioning that helps loosen habits and patterns. When we fa1l foul of old ways, when we fail to get beyond our "stuff," despite all our good intentions, we have to forgive ourselves and try again. We have to act as compassionately toward ourselves as we would toward a child we were teaching a new skill. Forgiveness allows the process of transformation to continue by removing the obstacles that can check the flow.