This left me breathless. As someone navigating identity, rupture, and slow repair—in family, in community, in myself—your words opened something tender and necessary. Forgiveness, for me, isn’t about forgetting or excusing—it’s how I remember my own humanity. Thank you for holding this complexity with such grace and fierceness. Subscribed with deep gratitude.
Thank you so much for this. I’m a trans woman living in the UK, and those darker parts of humanity are so often impossible to avoid.
Every time I struggle to find the words to illustrate how I’m feeling about the way forward, you manage to write something both necessary and beautiful that makes me feel seen and gives me a hundred new things to think about.
I’m young, which at times feels liberating and at times feels terrifying, but it means there’s a lot of things I aspire to be - and I aim every day to be as empathetic and eloquent as you <3
Hey, that's awesome and beautiful!!! Btw, do you know St. Stephen In The Fields Anglican church down in Kenzington Market? Because, if you're not already acquainted with the priest there, Rev. Maggie Helwig's homilies, especially her Easter homilies, I highly, highly recommend checking them out! THOUGH deeply liturgical, she totally jailbreaks the story of Jesus from it's white, patriarchal, colonial, etc, uses in ways that never cease to blow my mind! You can find them via the church's Facebook page, and you can find older, not just Easter homilies on its Youtube channel from back in the pandemic days when we livestreamed every service.
This is the medicine we all need now. I grew up in a midwestern evangelical household and due to chaos, chance, heartbreak and wandering I eventually wound up living in a rural village in Thailand. My wife is Buddhist and and American, so I am a poly-religious cultural mutt. We have a daughter who is almost 5. We are reading her the story or Miao Shan (Kuan Yin - by Maya Van Der Meer... I highly recommend. Its so beautiful!!). And like you, I was touched by her ability to forgive but also noticed my anger arise that yet again the woman has to submit. But also, like you, I knew there was a deeper teaching that is more powerful than our need for political rightness. I agree with you Kai, as hard as it is in this terrifying time, that forgiveness is the most effective path, and we will only survive we figure this out on a deep, dare i say it, Christ like level. We have come to think that "justice" is the highest ideal. But what is justice other than, as my mentor Martin Prechtel suggests, state sanctioned terrorism? The hard truth is, non-violence and forgiveness may get us all killed, like it did Jesus, but our spirits will be liberated. This takes a tremendous amout of faith and in a spiritually dead culture few seem to care about these concepts.... but I do. Thank you Kai, again and again. All blessings....
The king's illness could be read as inevitable blowback of the harm he's caused, but that doesn't happen because of some magical karma force, it happena when the king/sheriff/CEO severely harms or kills the wrong person, after harming/killing so many people, that it is statistically unlikely they won't be targeted.
I think it's important that all people listen to their heart and that some people let it lead them to rage.
I would have forgave my violently abusive father if at any point said he was sorry or regretted causing the harm he did. But he couldn't, until the day he died. Fortunately he only harmed and traumatized a few people and we could escape and be supported and he was only punished, as a poor irishmen, with loneliness.
But i don't know what i would have done, if i learned that he was thriving... I think that's where some of our modern extreme examples of vengeance come from.
What happens when people aren't held accountable for their actions. My dad was, even if he wasn't harmed for the harm he caused, his actions led to loneliness. It was natural accountability. But what if rich ppl can spend money to escape loneliness and other side effects of extreme harm?
I think being goomba'd by a video game character is basically inevitable, but more importantly, i think it's also appropriate.
Thank you for this beautiful piece of reflection which made me wonder… what if both ways of forgiving are necessary. What if in the here and now of the geopolitical aspects of our reality we need the forgiveness/with accountability type and in our here and now inner perception of reality we need the heart/soul type. And the challenge would be to juggle with both at the same time? Just wondering. And maybe this is what you are inviting us to and I didn’t get it?
This left me breathless. As someone navigating identity, rupture, and slow repair—in family, in community, in myself—your words opened something tender and necessary. Forgiveness, for me, isn’t about forgetting or excusing—it’s how I remember my own humanity. Thank you for holding this complexity with such grace and fierceness. Subscribed with deep gratitude.
Thank you so much for this. I’m a trans woman living in the UK, and those darker parts of humanity are so often impossible to avoid.
Every time I struggle to find the words to illustrate how I’m feeling about the way forward, you manage to write something both necessary and beautiful that makes me feel seen and gives me a hundred new things to think about.
I’m young, which at times feels liberating and at times feels terrifying, but it means there’s a lot of things I aspire to be - and I aim every day to be as empathetic and eloquent as you <3
So so needed. Thank you as always. Your words were the song my heart has been aching to hear. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I want to thank you. I’m a trans man living in the US and your words present a world I see.
May all the bodhisattvas and deities protect you always.
Hey, that's awesome and beautiful!!! Btw, do you know St. Stephen In The Fields Anglican church down in Kenzington Market? Because, if you're not already acquainted with the priest there, Rev. Maggie Helwig's homilies, especially her Easter homilies, I highly, highly recommend checking them out! THOUGH deeply liturgical, she totally jailbreaks the story of Jesus from it's white, patriarchal, colonial, etc, uses in ways that never cease to blow my mind! You can find them via the church's Facebook page, and you can find older, not just Easter homilies on its Youtube channel from back in the pandemic days when we livestreamed every service.
You are such an incredible being, and I thank you for all that you offer us in your writing practice. Sending blessings of love and care to you.
thank you thank you thank you
Thank for this story and forgiveness is what we need to build an abolitionist world of compassion and care.
This is the medicine we all need now. I grew up in a midwestern evangelical household and due to chaos, chance, heartbreak and wandering I eventually wound up living in a rural village in Thailand. My wife is Buddhist and and American, so I am a poly-religious cultural mutt. We have a daughter who is almost 5. We are reading her the story or Miao Shan (Kuan Yin - by Maya Van Der Meer... I highly recommend. Its so beautiful!!). And like you, I was touched by her ability to forgive but also noticed my anger arise that yet again the woman has to submit. But also, like you, I knew there was a deeper teaching that is more powerful than our need for political rightness. I agree with you Kai, as hard as it is in this terrifying time, that forgiveness is the most effective path, and we will only survive we figure this out on a deep, dare i say it, Christ like level. We have come to think that "justice" is the highest ideal. But what is justice other than, as my mentor Martin Prechtel suggests, state sanctioned terrorism? The hard truth is, non-violence and forgiveness may get us all killed, like it did Jesus, but our spirits will be liberated. This takes a tremendous amout of faith and in a spiritually dead culture few seem to care about these concepts.... but I do. Thank you Kai, again and again. All blessings....
The king's illness could be read as inevitable blowback of the harm he's caused, but that doesn't happen because of some magical karma force, it happena when the king/sheriff/CEO severely harms or kills the wrong person, after harming/killing so many people, that it is statistically unlikely they won't be targeted.
I think it's important that all people listen to their heart and that some people let it lead them to rage.
I would have forgave my violently abusive father if at any point said he was sorry or regretted causing the harm he did. But he couldn't, until the day he died. Fortunately he only harmed and traumatized a few people and we could escape and be supported and he was only punished, as a poor irishmen, with loneliness.
But i don't know what i would have done, if i learned that he was thriving... I think that's where some of our modern extreme examples of vengeance come from.
What happens when people aren't held accountable for their actions. My dad was, even if he wasn't harmed for the harm he caused, his actions led to loneliness. It was natural accountability. But what if rich ppl can spend money to escape loneliness and other side effects of extreme harm?
I think being goomba'd by a video game character is basically inevitable, but more importantly, i think it's also appropriate.
Beautiful writing! You are well on your way to Bodhisattva-hood. Thank you for this.
Your writing is such a gift. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
Thank u for reminding us of soft places of allowing of being open of unfurling
Thank you for this beautiful piece of reflection which made me wonder… what if both ways of forgiving are necessary. What if in the here and now of the geopolitical aspects of our reality we need the forgiveness/with accountability type and in our here and now inner perception of reality we need the heart/soul type. And the challenge would be to juggle with both at the same time? Just wondering. And maybe this is what you are inviting us to and I didn’t get it?
Thank you, I needed this today 🙏