The Great Divorce
by C S Lewis (1945)
This delightful dream narrative, set in the modern world, is about Heaven and Hell. It starts at a crowded bus stop in Grey Town, a fast-growing city. There is a million-mile long queue at the bus stop. Everyone is unhappy, angry, fighting and bickering, sensual, violent and selfish—hell, in other words. A beautiful luminous bus driven by a mysterious driver arrives. The passengers rush into the bus. The half-full vehicle flies away. The Narrator’s fellow passenger tells him that people shun the bus to remain in Grey Town. The Narrator realizes that he is in the company of the dead. The bus lands on a cliff beside a river and the Valley of the Shadow of Life, where everything is frozen still and motionless. The visitors have no bodies.
An ex-murderer named Len has now become a spirit because he has learned love. But Big Ghost, a virtuous man, is sent back to Grey Town because he does not practice love. Many people come to the Valley but return to Grey Town—or Hell. For others who stay, Grey Town is Purgatory, from where they climb the mountain—that is, Heaven. The guide explains that stubbornness in choosing misery instead of humility prevents people from reaching God. Mere human love obstructs the love of God, leading to the loss of both. Another magical sequence shows how an angel crushes a lizard representing the burden of lust and turns it into a magnificent horse, taking the ghost to heaven. The surrender of earthly love makes humans more beautiful and powerful and more loving than they imagine. The Narrator wonders if God would bring all those in Hell to Heaven one day. The answer is that Heaven is open to all who desire it. Queries about the future are irrelevant because humans live in time, so they can never know about future possibilities. The mysteries of salvation can be understood only “outside time”; not on earth. Heaven is our destination, Hell is our choice.
Forgiveness, the Bridge to Happiness: How I freed myself from my own prejudices and expanded my life
By Lauren Terrence (2021)
This guide book to forgiveness is inspired by the author’s struggle to forgive. It tells us how to free ourselves from the cycle of unresolved pain and resentments, approached from the perspectives of psychology, spirituality and reason. Forgiveness brings both spiritual and physical benefits. It is not the exclusion of the natural and rational implications of hurtful actions; nor is it excusing the offense or condoning it. It also does not mean that the perpetrator has to be welcomed back into your life. Forgiveness liberates the forgiver and the forgiven, but it is more about the forgiver, who is liberated from bitterness, resentment, and judgment and makes him loving, giving and joyful. Anger, frustration and bitterness drain our emotional energy; forgiveness energizes. Implementing forgiveness is the secret to daily liberation. Not forgiving another person is like taking poison and expecting the other’s death. Often we have an incorrect understanding of the experience. Forgiveness is not forgetting or ignoring a hurt. It is also not excusing individuals of responsibility for hurting. The wrong-doer is accountable for the wrong. It is also not mere reconciliation. Our unhappy experiences can be learning experiences. Therefore we should not evade them by perceiving our negative experiences as caused by the external environment or other persons. It also takes time to forgive. Forgiveness requires deliberate thought, a decision and prayer. Forgiveness can be inspired by focusing on the resultant benefits. Psychological studies reveal that our capacity for forgiveness increases with age. A vital area of forgiveness is self-forgiveness. Clinical studies show how a range of illnesses—including some fatal ones—can be cured through forgiveness. Steps for forgiving and overcoming resentments: (1) To open oneself to the healing possibility of forgiveness; (2) To liken the received hurt to a bullet lodged inside us that is to be removed; (3) To remember that it “was never about you,” that is, the choice made by someone to hurt you was “an act they were playing out.” In other words, forgiveness starts with our choice to do so to ourselves.
Prof Gigy Joseph
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