I often ask people one of my favorite "old person sayings". These are quirky and weird quotations asked by the greatest generation, like "whaddaya know?" or "whaddaya think?" My favorite happens to be, "what's the good word?"
Today, I asked a co-worker that question, and we spoke. We talked about forgiveness in the context of people who we can consider to be abominations to humanity. Is it possible to forgive those who have wronged so many tens, hundreds, thousands, or even millions of lives? Is it possible, even, to forgive God or science for taking those lives so dear to us without any explanation or cause?
The good word of the day was coined by my co-worker to be "Oasis". I pondered this for a while, and looked up the definition of the word. I found "1 : a fertile or green area in an arid region (as a desert) 2 : something that provides refuge, relief, or pleasant contrast". So I'm wrapping my head around the idea that to forgive ultimately leads us to our oasis. We are drawn to a sacred space where we have the capacity within our hearts to forgive and enjoy the fertile grenery of our oasis.
It's been a deep afternoon.
2 comments:
Oasis = Wonderwall
I had this Singaporean roommate in college. Every day I would say, "What's the buzz, Yong Yeow? What's the word on the street?" And he would say, "Lawrence." It never got old.
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