valley views Instead of forgiveness, try togetherness W
crafted about the key eeks ago I started out con- words were no longer key. The words changed templating a list of seven because my perspective words that led me to some universal life truths. changed. Because the world I wrote about two: changed. kindness and Because it compassion. is always I had three Jill Pertler changing. more colSyndicated columnist I wish I umns written could tell and in the you I have hopper when it all figured out, but I one of life’s universal don’t. I’m still figuring truths happened. My computer crashed and all it out and I’ll continue to attempt to communimy information was lost, cate this figuring as I go including the written, along. albeit unpublished, colOne of the words I umns. wrote about was forgiveWelcome to life. ness. In it, I explained As the days wore on that forgiving others libmy viewpoint of those erates us because harborseven crucial and critiing ill-will tethers us to cal words changed. The others in a negative sense. columns I’d so carefully
Slices of Life
letters
Tickets issued for parking near water level Editor, Fair warning for all of us who have always parked our cars near the water level of Mission Dam or other lake on the reservation when the water level is low. CSKT is now giving out tickets and the fine is no little thing at $95. I have parked there to launch my kayak which is too heavy for me to carry far. Even using a rack with wheels would mean having to push a heavy kayak uphill and over rough 10 - September 22, 2021
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We aren’t here to forgive. We are here to live out our own story, without focus on the good or bad deeds of others.”
That’s still true, but I no longer believe forgiveness is necessary to a life best-lived. Here’s why: forgiving isn’t our responsibility, or even our right. Big thought, I know. And a big thought deserves a big answer. We aren’t here to forgive. We are here to live out our own story, without a focus on the good or bad deeds of others. Believing someone needs forgiveness gives them a
terrain. I’m not sure I would be strong enough to do that. It pretty much eliminates kayaking on the lakes in the summer. Also, just because it looks like a road doesn’t mean it is. Heidi Riddle St. Ignatius
Healing, harmony starts from ground up Editor, Six years ago I wrote about serious concerns we all are having. I called it “The Birth and Growth of Terrorism.”
power over us that I don’t think we want to give. Simply put, it’s a waste of time. People will come and go in our lives. Sometimes, from our perspective, they will do us wrong, but forgiving isn’t necessary for our continued growth or well being. Most often when someone “wrongs” us, they have no desire, intention or even knowledge of this wrong. Even if they do,
The following are some questions I posed only six years ago. How many hundreds of years ago could these same questions have been asked about terrorist type actions? What is the world to do? What is our nation to do? What is our community to do? When will it end? What does it take to wake up a world of humans to sensible and productive ways of addressing our problems? We humans have been created with the power of sensible reasoning, helpful choices, and good Valley Journal
their actions aren’t based on the outcome that affects us, but more likely the outcome that affects them. We are a byproduct, yet we see ourselves as the center of the action needing forgiving. Welcome to the human condition. Even if the wrong is intentional, especially if it is intentional, it isn’t our responsibility or prerogative or even our duty to forgive. It is our duty to move on. And, while doing so, maybe, instead of forgiveness, I suggest empathy. Forgiveness implies me versus you; It implies I am right and you are wrong. Empathy implies us. To empathize is to
judgment. This is our gift from God. This world is a classroom. Classrooms are for listening and learning Learning the lessons of God’s Love are available to each and every one of us moment by moment. We simply have to make the choice. This takes thought, understanding, and practice, practice, practice. And it works. This is a personal choice for each of us, of course. Healing and harmony start from the ground up, not from the top down. Bob McClellan Missoula
understand the perspective and the situation of another. It is putting yourself in their shoes to literally feel the blisters. It is hurting when they hurt. Because they hurt. Sometimes we all hurt. It is understanding see page 11
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