I cannot forget a teacher I knew in my childhood. May he be in good health, anywhere he would be!
So, I remember that once we discussed about how important is not to keep within ourselves resentments and to try to get rid of that.
And he made us see this in practice.
- Tomorrow, he told us, everyone of you must bring at school a plastic bag and a small sack with potatoes.
We looked at him dumbfounded, but we had learnt that he did not joke with such matters. So, the next day everybody had what he asked.
- Every time when you decide not to forgive someone, take a potato, write on it that person’s name and put it in the plastic bag.
It did not pass long time and some of the bags were quite heavy. He also told us that anywhere we would go, we had to carry with us that bag. On the road, in the car, at school, at shopping, everywhere.
Do you understand why he did this?
In this way he wanted to show us that we should not forget about the weight we were carrying. We should have become aware of it in every moment.
To have it with us in places that are somehow…the way they should be. Just imagine to see someone having a bag full of potatoes at the birthday of a friend!
Imagine it too that many of these potatoes have begun to decay. In order to remind us the respect we deserve for the refuse and pain from within ourselves, when we don’t want to forgive.
Many times we think that by forgiving our neighbor we make him a favour. I would dare say that it’s quite the opposite: we make this favour to ourselves. Because we get rid of an unnecessary weight.
Therefore, next time when it would be difficult for you to forgive someone, remember: „Isn’t your bag heavy enough?”.
