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.
What is the way that leads to life? The narrow way, the way less traveled, the alternative wisdom of Love. It has two closely related dimensions. First, it is an invitation to see God as gracious and womblike rather than as the source and enforcer of the requirements, boundaries, and divisions of conventional wisdom to a life that is more and more centered in God. The alternative wisdom of Love sees the religious life as a deepening relationship with the Spirit of God, not as a life of requirements and reward.
~ from MEETING JESUS AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME by Marcus J. Borg
