Forgiving is accepting life

Today I woke up early to renew my Israeli identity card.
After waiting one hour in the administrative lobby, I realise I forgot my passport. Fortunately, there is enough time for me to get home and back before my turn with the government representative. I jump on my bike and head home.

I am pissed. I start cursing myself. How could I forget such a simple thing ?
My whole being is filled with frustration.
But then I realize: there is absolutely nothing to be annoyed about.
I am having a nice ride outside instead of waiting bored over there.
Even if I had to come back another time, what would be the harm ?

Most of my frustration came from my unfulfilled expectation for myself to make no mistake. Once I forgave myself for the turn of events, my body became light as a feather, the back and forth trip became a banality.

Those situations happen all the time, and often with others. When we are annoyed at a friend, co-worker or partner, it is because they have not lived up to a personal standard we had set in our head for them.

Forgive them as well.

All this sounds very Christian but I do believe this is what life is about: a constant unrequested deviation from what we had planned. Sometimes it is for the best, life takes us out of the boring plan we had for ourselves, sometimes it is for the worst, and we are left wondering about what could have been.

So accept things went the other way.

Forgiving one’s and other’s mistakes is embracing the essence of life.