HEY, IF I KNEW I WOULD HURT YOU, I WOULD'T...




















Pic.: Neerja Panchal



A line keeps playing in my heart repeatedly today:

“Hey, if I knew I would hurt you, I wouldn’t.”

And, the more I hear that, the more I get convinced, that when I hurt someone, I am doing it in my ignorance.

Please, please, please believe me: I am not justifying my ‘act’, here!

So, what Jesus said from His cross as he was dying in pain was so true:

“Father, forgive them; for, they do not know what they are doing.”

If Jesus’ tormentors ‘knew’ what they were doing, they would not have done that… would not have humiliated, tortured and hanged Him the way they did.



The greatest pain in life is the pain of not being healed of the deep wounds caused by our ‘perceived’ tormentors… This pain comes from our inability to find enough grace in our hearts to ‘understand’ that our tormentor has inflicted the pain in us in his ignorance. And, because we aren’t able to arrive at this deep understanding, we aren’t able to forgive him… And, till we aren’t able to forgive him, he will continue to rule over our peace… continue to torment us, keep us agonized.

The old saying goes, “The door always swings both ways.”

Well, I would like to fit it in this context. Peace in our hearts is possible only when we understand the truth that if others have hurt us, they have done that only in their ignorance… And, if we have hurt others, we have done that only in our ignorance…

It is a tough lesson to follow in life, even though it is so priceless, so beneficial, so empowering and enriching. I won’t be revealing anything ‘new’, if I say, here, that peace in our hearts is impossible till we do not get the deep understanding that, eventually, no one can cause us pain without our permission… that no one can hijack our peace unless we allow them to.

As a Christian, Christ’s words are too familiar to me from my baby days… But, I am too caught-up, like the rest in this world, in the blame-game… 



No wonder, my tormentor doesn’t leave me!
 

So, there come, occasionally, these moments when I hear my heart sing… sing repeatedly in silent joy and peace:

 “Hey, if I knew I would hurt you, I wouldn’t.”



GERALD D’CUNHA

Comments

Darpan Kapoor said…
Very healing post. Tough we know, but the only way to peace.
- Darpan Kapoor
October 23, 2013 at 2:33 PM
Lalit Shenoy said…
Went into a deep silence! Lalit
October 23, 2013 at 3:20 PM
Sheela Vyas said…
Difficult for us to digest this as we are so conditioned to react and blame. Someone is always responsible for our pain and so goes along this our misery!
.... Sheela Vyas
October 23, 2013 at 4:25 PM
Raj said…
A beautifully explained. So true and meaningful. Thank you.
October 24, 2018 at 5:08 PM
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