As one passes the midpoint in life’s journey, when there is more travel behind than ahead, we may find that life appears not so much a road but a river, a stream that carries the traveler inexorably forward, its current too swift to make headway upstream. Like the highway but even more so, the river endlessly branches; it is a work of nature - not purpose built. Some of the branches lead to places no one would ever want be.

We often say we have forgiven someone when we come to understand that we might have acted in a similar fashion in their place. We may feel magnanimous and proud of our generosity but often we continue to feel anger about the injury that was done to us. This is understanding not forgiveness, or maybe it can be called forgiveness of the mind. True forgiveness is the gift of a humble heart, one that can only be bestowed by one who has experienced forgiveness of one’s own trespasses, not by another person, but by the gods themselves.