Marilyn Redmond Books
Monday, December 4, 2017
Sunday, December 3, 2017
Sunday, November 26, 2017
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Monday, November 20, 2017
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Amends Bring Accord
My vocabulary has grown since I began my spiritual
journey. The longer I am on this path,
new words occur for my growing vocabulary. Over the years I find a new
understanding of words. Their deeper
meaning provides a way of life that was new to me, 32 years ago. Amends was a
new word to me. I was trying so hard to be perfect; I did not understand the
significance and wisdom behind this action.
My first amends was to my mother right out of treatment. I
told my counselor the story and he said I was not responsible for her feelings.
I had always gone around saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I am
alive." This was to calm the waters around me and I became the sacrificial
lamb in the family. I found out I did not need to make amends to her for this
particular situation. I then found out it is a good idea to check this idea of
amends with my counselor to see if it is appropriate.
Then, I made an amends to a fellow worker for talking a
chart off her desk, as I as too lazy to make my own. At the time she discovered
what I had done, she was furious. However, she was most pleasant about it when
I made my amends. She told me that it takes a big person to apologize. I was
only trying to get rid of my anxiety and guilt because I worked with her every
day. I did not see my action as anything more than wanting to find my inner peace and
serenity.
I made an amends to my daughter for leaving her and her
brother alone in a motel at Disneyland while her dad and I went drinking. This
had been tearing me apart for years, emotionally. Surprisingly, I found out she
was not upset at her abandonment without a dinner. She understood, she told me.
She knew what would happen if I had not gone with him. She was upset about an
entirely different incident, of which I never knew was a problem to her.
I heard in a meeting about forgiving yourself. That was not
something I had heard about before. I thought about this, over time. Now, I
understand that forgiveness is about leaving the past in the past, so I can
live in the day, one day at a time. Amends change my energy into harmony when I
let it go. Most people have accepted my amends graciously.
As I have forgiven myself, I do not have to beat myself up
for not being perfect. Now, I understand where and when I need to make right
with another person for my actions that harm them. It may be restitution,
reimbursement, or acknowledging I was wrong.
Recently, I was very tired from overdoing when walking and
climbing stars that day on a tour, because of my arthritis. In a conversation
with my fellow that evening about dinner plans for the next evening, I got
angry. I vented well because it could have been a short talk and he kept making
it more complicated. I let him get the blunt of my tiredness from being
exhausted and in pain. In a few minutes after hanging up on him, I called back
and told him that I realized how dog-tired I was and that I was sorry I had had
gotten so angry from overdoing it on the excursion. Today, I recognize it
sooner, take responsibility for it faster, and move on.
This changes my energy into harmony and releases it into the past. I do not have to carry that with me anymore. I can be free of that weight and be liberated to enjoy my life. Amends allows me to give up the wrongs and enjoy the presence of God today.
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