A high school teacher told her
students to bring to school a clear plastic bag and a sack of potatoes. The
students are asked to think of all the people who have wronged them, every
person that they have judged, every person they could not accept. The names of
these people were to be each written on a potato and put in the bag.
Most students had bags that were
full and overflowing. They were instructed to carry the bag everywhere with
them for one week – including taking into their bed at night. They were never
to let the bag out of their sight.
By the end of the week, the students
were sick to death of their bag of potatoes. It was annoying having to lug it
everywhere. The potatoes started to fester and go mouldy and stinky. The bags
were heavy and awkward, weighed the students down and made them miserable. The teacher told the students the significance
of carrying the potatoes. It was a way to understand the price we pay for
holding onto our resentments.
Fortunately, since the week was over, they
were able to put the down their bag of potatoes and get rid of it. The lightness,
relief and freedom at doing so was only a taste of what they could feel of
letting go of the resentments that each potato represented.
The teacher asked: " I hope
you all enjoyed the game. How did you feel while carrying the potatoes with you
for one week?" The children
immediately let out their frustrations and started complaining bitterly of the
trouble that they went through carrying the heavy and smelly potatoes wherever
they went. Then the teacher told them the hidden meaning behind the game they played.
He said: "This is exactly
the situation when you carry your hatred for somebody inside your heart. The
stench of hatred will contaminate your heart and you will carry it with you
wherever you go. If you cannot tolerate the smell of rotten potatoes for just
one week, especially those of you who had plenty of potatoes to carry, can you
imagine what is it like to have the stench of hatred in your heart for your
lifetime?"
The hassle of lugging the bag around with them
made it clear what a weight they were carrying around spiritually and how they had to pay attention to it all the
time. Naturally, the condition of the
potatoes deteriorated to a nasty smelly slime.
This was a great metaphor for the price we pay for keeping our pain and
heavy negativity! Too often we think of
forgiveness as a gift to the other person and clearly is for ourselves ! Forgiving someone can be one of the most
exhilarating experiences of your life!
Take the example of the people
in a drug and alcohol treatment center. One thing
found common in addicts and alcoholics, as with most of us, is that they
carried with them the excess baggage of forgiveness. It makes us sick to harbor anger and
forgiveness for someone. But, you say,
they don’t deserve to be forgiven. You
aren’t forgiving them because they deserve it; you are forgiving them because
you deserve it. Forgiveness lets them
live rent free in your head and heart, causing you great emotional harm and a
huge load of bitterness. Acknowledge the
pain and the hurt they may have caused you, then let it all go. All you have to be is willing to forgive;
God does the rest. They are no words to
describe the joy that will come into your heart, but it is waiting right around
the corner for you.
What do you think? Do you have
some potatoes you could let go of? Are they festering? Getting stinky? Weighing
you down? Making you miserable?
Make this your day to forgive!
Have a happy journey!
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