Benjamin Teixeira de Aguiar
by the Spirit Gustavo Henrique
Q: How can we put into practice self-forgiveness without falling into self-pity?
A: We feel in the process of self-indulgence a willingness to gather strength to correct the mistake we realize we have incurred. I repeat: the healthy self-forgiveness is the one which gives us motivation to gather energy to correct the mistake we realize we have incurred. Because the problem with lack of self-forgiveness is that it weakens our emotional forces, forces that would be viscerally and strategically important for us to reconstitute the damaged tissue of our spiritual growth. That is why the absence of self-forgiveness besides indicating absence of self-love and lack of connection with God, becomes counterproductive.
We will realize that self-forgiveness is not self-forgiveness but self-complacency when it becomes a destructive process, when we are too permissive and, instead of feeling enthusiasm and excitement about restarting and rebuilding the direction of our lives, on the contrary, we feel unmotivated and disheartened to change the way we are. At this point there is self-pity, self-complacency, permissiveness with oneself, not self-forgiveness.
(Text received on December 22, 2009.)