Forgive and forget… this is a popular line used by lots of people especially when giving advice, but it’s not one that is easily followed.

Forgiving someone who has done something hurtful and bad to us is not easy. But it usually can be done, though it may require some time. Even though we’ve forgiven someone for the wrong they’ve done, we can never really forget, at least not completely. Our mind can be sharp when it comes to these things. Especially if someone has hurt us BIG time. We can never really forget the pain and the fact that it has happened to us.

What’s the difference between forgiving and forgetting, anyway? If you’ve forgiven someone, doesn’t it automatically mean that you’re willing to forget everything that happened? What does forgiveness entail? Forgiveness is a process and it may take a long time, some even take forever before the resentment and the anger subsides. Forgiveness means that you choose not to punish that person because of what that person has done to you. But giving forgiveness doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to forget.

It’s not a matter of holding a grudge, it’s just that once the damage has been done, it can never be undone. It can be improved and healed, yes, but it can never be undone. In other words, you can forgive the person, but you can’t forget what they did. It will stay with you forever, but what changes is how you deal with your emotions. Over time, the pain, disappointment and anger may diminish. It will come to a point wherein it becomes just a distant thought with no more emotional impact. Nevertheless, it will enter your mind… someday, you’ll look back… especially during the times in your life when you’re forced to recall it. But then you’re in control. Because it doesn’t affect you like it used to. And this is when you can say that you’re stronger, because of what you’ve been through and because of what you had to endure.

That’s why I can say that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with remembering. “Forgive, but never forget“. Now, that’s more like it. Wouldn’t you agree?

Do you find it easy to forgive?

Copyright©2008angel

My brother gave me a YouTube link this morning, saying I have to watch it because it’s the best video he’s ever seen. I was intrigued by his intro, so I watched the clip. Guess what, it sent goosebumps all over my body! This story has become so popular and is all over the Internet so I’m sure most of you might have come across this months ago, but it only just reached me now, and I felt compelled to post it here to share it with those who haven’t seen it yet.

It’s a story about an exceptional lion raised by two young Australian men, John Rendall and Ace Berg. They bought the lion cub from a store, they saw it was cramped and lonely in his cage, so they decided to bring the poor little guy home. They raised him as a pet, named him Christian, and it was the start of an amazing friendship and loyalty among the three. But when Christian grew bigger, they didn’t have a choice but to release him back into the wild. So they enlisted the help of George Adamson, the known “Father Of Lions“ and after some time, though it wasn’t easy, they were able to release Christian successfully into the wild.

After a year, Christian got accustomed to life in the wild and was even leader of their pride. John and Ace decided to visit him again, and despite warnings from George, that Christian might not recognize them anymore, they went ahead and sought their beloved lion. So what happened, you ask? Well, if you don’t know… you go find out for yourself by watching the video.

It’s such a heartwarming story about friendship, and how even a vicious animal like a lion is capable of love and affection. I have to admit, I was nearly moved to tears when I watched the video. If you haven’t heard of Christian, The Lion… you have to watch the video, and while you’re at it, you can watch the whole documentary dedicated to him too. It’s definitely worth the watch.

Copyright©2008angel

Nowadays, the world has become so advanced in technology… we have cellphones, Internet, e-mails, chat… so many technological inventions are being made. Don’t get me wrong, these are great things and they bring so much convenience to us, but apart from the wonderful benefits that we get from these technological advances, there are certain disadvantages as well. Like for instance, cellphones can be great tools of communication with our loved ones, right? That’s a good thing. But they can also be used for “not-so-wonderful acts” like cheating.

I know a lot of people who are victims of this. A friend of mine cried when she found in her boyfriend’s cellphone a text message from a girl saying “I love you”. She found lots of sweet messages in the guy’s inbox and that’s where she knew that he’s been cheating on her the whole time. Another friend of mine is complaining that when she’s with her man, she gets frustrated because he’s always on his mobile phone, texting… and when she asks who it is he’s talking to, he becomes evasive. Also, he gets furious when she wants to see his cellphone and he gives her a hard time about it, saying that he needs his privacy. Yet another friend of mine found out that her long time boyfriend was cheating on her when she browsed through his chat archives. Yeah… OUCH, right? If this has happened to you too, you’d know how much it hurts.

The thing is, technology has now become another “creative” means to flirt with other people or start and nurture an affair. Many people admit to using technology to fool around and become unfaithful. In other words, it definitely makes cheating a lot easier. With this reality, how are we supposed to trust each other anymore? It’s sad because this trend is becoming predominant in our society today. It’s scary, really.

Especially when you think you know somebody so well, and you trust that person completely, just to discover him flirting with someone else in the chat room or through text messaging. See, even to the most faithful person, the ease of communication that technology brings can be a real temptation. Anyway, who would know right? Chatting is so easy, you can just flirt away when your partner is not around. Or texting can be done anytime anywhere, right? It’s a very tempting thing to do with someone, especially one that you’re strongly attracted to. And it can be instrumental in the conception of an affair that is capable of ruining most relationships.

I guess no matter what we do, we can’t ever really put a stop to this trend. It will always be present, and the only thing we can really do is be careful and just be a wonderful partner to the person in our life. If he cheats, then it’s his conscience that’s on the line, not yours.

Life and love is complicated, and we can never really explain it’s every intricacy. Life can be unfair too, so it’s up to us how we use every situation to our advantage. Technology can make cheating easier, but we all still have a choice. It all comes down to whether or not we will allow a certain device to ruin our principles, and yes, our lives too. It all comes down to our personal values… are we really inherently unfaithful? Or are we just turning to these technologies to make our lives a lot more exciting? If you’re tempted to cheat, will you give in, or will you try to resist? We all have a choice.

Have you ever been tempted to cheat using technology?

Copyright©2008angel

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Pimples and acne are pesky little things, aren’t they? People who say they’re harmless are largely mistaken. The truth is, acne and pimples can have a significant impact in a person’s self esteem. Even though they always say that beauty shouldn’t just be skin deep, the fact is, having pimples and acne is embarrassing especially if they’re all over your face! Those who have battled with acne for most of their lives could attest to that. Some people are blessed because they only have to deal with a pimple or two at certain points, but those that have them sprouting everywhere, these people can really say that acne is ruining their social lives. That’s why they try every single acne treatment out in the market today to get rid of these unsightly things. Some are effective, some aren’t. And some people are never really able to lead normal lives because of this. They say acne is caused by many factors… stress, diet, etc. But ultimately they’re caused by overactive hormones. Aargh, acne is such a pain in the butt, don’t you agree?

It’s amazing how wrong you can be about a person. You think you already know them so well, but you’ll just be surprised one day when they suddenly show certain qualities that you never even thought they had.

I learned this the hard way recently with someone important in my life. After years of knowing this person, I thought I already know him. I thought I knew his quirks, his whole personality. But boy, was I wrong. I didn’t even see it coming. To be honest, I have such a hard time dealing with this newly revealed side of his personality, we clashed… I thought I could find a way to adjust to this side of him, but it’s just so hard. I tried, believe me…. it’s definitely not for lack of trying. But no matter what I do, I couldn’t penetrate his defenses.

Although I didn’t see him less of a person because of what I discovered about him, things changed between us. It caused problems in our interactions. It became difficult to talk to him and we’re always fighting because of it. Many times I’m tempted to just give up, to just let him be, instead of trying to fix things, because I’m so fed up with his attitude towards me. But I’m still extending my patience… after all, we shared really good times together and he has become a huge part of my life.

Experiencing this in my life now, I realized that you can never really know a person well enough. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve known them a long time… for a year, 5 years, 10 years or more; even though you’ve known someone your whole life, always expect to be surprised when certain parts of their personality (that you didn’t know before) will be revealed to you. That’s why it’s important to continue getting to know a person even though you think you’ve already got him figured out. Create activities together which would allow you to get to know him more deeply.

Being with someone is a journey and a discovery each and every day. Even couples who have been together for so long can discover new things about each other. You will either be pleasantly surprised or you’ll be hopelessly frustrated. So brace yourself for it.

How well do you think you know your partner?

Copyright©2008angel