Photo credit: Ali Taylor
Allow me please to assist you in crossing the road; you have so many bags that are weighing you down… Often we go through life and allow the frustrations that we experience in our relationship with others to weigh us down. We hold a grudge; we keep our feelings of resentment alive, virtually on life support, preventing us from moving ahead.
In this week’s Torah portion we learn the reaction of Joseph when he reconnected with his brothers after being sold by them as a slave 22 years earlier. He didn’t retain any baggage, he didn’t hold a grudge – he forgave them. His attitude was that the entire arduous experience was all part of G-d’s will to provide sustenance to his family and the entire region.
It’s amazing the power of a simple shift in attitude! Had Joseph instead felt the need – and seemingly legitimately so – to reprimand his brothers and punish them for what they had done everything would have been different. Joseph was able to let go of the baggage and cross the road instead of getting stuck in the darkness.
More recently we saw an extraordinary demonstration of the incredible effect a simple shift in attitude is able to have. Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa who passed away yesterday, had every reason to be resentful. He was imprisoned for 27 years! He was mistreated and maligned yet when given the opportunity he chose forgiveness over blame and reconciliation over recrimination.
Whether the abuse we suffer from others is on this scale or perhaps even more damaging, in order to cross the road we need to let go of the baggage that’s weighing us down.