Sunday, February 10, 2019

recognize and forgive......................


     Whenever I go to the funeral of someone I have known well, I marvel at the image of that person that is portrayed in the eulogy.   Seldom does their imperfect humanity survive the idealized descriptions that, while meant to comfort, succeed only in sanitizing the life of the deceased.  To know someone fully and love them in spite of, even because of, their imperfections is an act that requires us to recognize and forgive, two very important indicators of emotional maturity.  More important is the fact that, if we can do this for other people, we may be able to do it for ourselves.

-Gordon Livingston,  Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart:  Thirty True Things You Need to Know Now

3 comments:

  1. Looks good. You recommend it fella? E.

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  2. It is important to remember someone accurately the way they were when they were alive, even the not so nice things. I recall, more than once, overhearing those leaving a funeral asking each other if they had been at the correct service? The deceased can’t be preached into heaven and no one is perfect. Let’s be real.

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