I want to thank those of you who have spent the time to review my posts on transgression and atonement.  By now you have read over 4000 words on a subject, which, when I undertook this journey, I had no idea that I had to contribute.

I have been engaged in the practice of examining my transgressions and making amends for well over a decade. No doubt, the practice arose from my post cancer inquiry into my life’s purpose.  As I examined what gave my life meaning, I continued to run into those boulders in the soil that impeded my furrowing into more fertile ground.  For a while, I went around them.  There is a lot of self-denial around transgressions.   You treat them as if they were impersonal, harmless acts.  You blame the victim of your transgressions, attempting to make the victim of the “cause” of your thoughtless acts.  You create “excuse stories” that seek to blend your transgressions into the larger setting of your family, your work, or your culture, trying to minimize the impact of your acts and the inappropriateness of your behavior.   But as time goes on, the number of boulders forces you to give them your attention.  You cannot move forward until you carefully examine your past. Keep Reading »