Forgiveness —Something we can do to keep ourselves healthy

Many years ago, I read a piece of advice that truly caused me to reflect. The statement was about letting go of petty grievances and of not harboring resentment. It proclaimed that forgiveness is something we do for ourselves, not others. Each of us, in our lifetime, has experienced an assault on our identity or sense of self (pride), or on our body. We feel we must defend our bruised egos, reclaim who we are, and create a sense of fairness and justice by getting even. We expect that to make ourselves whole, the person who perpetrated the injustice must apologize, or in some other way give of themselves in order to "make things even."

To the extent that we must endure such injustices, we feel abused and hurt, and we feel we cannot go on until that wrong is somehow "righted". All the while, however, this resentment is creating a knot within us, something that represents "unfinished business". We carry this extra baggage along with us, perhaps adding additional baggage over time, and then realizing one day that we have a lot of this baggage weighing us down, and it truly does weigh us down.

There is abundant evidence now about how the endocrine system, the regulator of hormones that flow from our emotions, can yield unhealthy consequences over time if we continue to carry this additional emotional weight. It can and does create conditions that lead to increased risk for physical and mental illness. Yet, summoning the strength to be larger than any particular issue is to truly proclaim one's independence and create the emotional conditions that empower the body and the mind. This is often easier said than done because we are so habituated to acting like a victim when we are assaulted. We often forget that there is sometimes more power in "not doing" as in "doing"— in yielding rather than forcing. That is a principle of Taoism.

So, it turns out that one of the most beneficial "fitness exercises" a person can do is learning how to forgive. Think of forgiving as "giving for health and happiness"—our own!

wdydwyd? is a gallery for sharing visual stories about who we are

The fact that the wdydwyd? site has been visited by 475K people since its inception less than two years ago invites a few observations. First, the idea of asking people to respond to an intriguing question using a photo with words is novel. Novelty invites interest. Second, the world of the internet is at least as much about communicating visually as it is about communicating with words (which, after all, are visual symbols). The combination of creative words and images uploaded to wdydwyd has revealed incredible creativity. Combine that with the power of the internet to disseminate ideas virally and you may be able to explain why Tony D was on to something so powerful when he created the site. Kudos to him!

wdydwyd? gains additional power from the likelihood that, because people create their identities through their actions, explaining those actions (their doings) is like telling a story about themselves. Neurobiologists assert that our nervous systems are "wired" to understand through stories. Effective speakers know that they communicate best when they use stories, and what is enjoyable social conversation, after all, besides the creative sharing of stories. Hit movies are popular because they tell stories visually. So wdydwyd? is ultimately a gallery for sharing our stories about ourselves visually. Indeed, it is a visual café, and an increasingly popular one.

What invites you to wdydwyd? What are your explanations for its popularity?