“Then Peter came to Him and said: Lord! How many times should I forgive my brother who sins against me? up to seven times? Jesus says to him: I do not say to you, “until seven,” but until seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:21-22) Today is the day when everyone asks everyone for forgiveness. Or almost everyone. As a colleague correctly writes, on this day messages with thematic pictures literally fall like an avalanche on instant messengers and social networks... And, to be honest, this also bothers me a little. Well, actually, like any other day, when emoticons/pictures/videos suddenly start pouring in on a variety of topics, many of which are not even interesting to me. But that’s okay... in the end, you can turn off the alert sounds and the distraction will cease to be such. Another question is how sincerely is this being done? And I’m not talking about mailings with good morning wishes, etc. Namely, about those related to today. Let’s say someone A receives a picture from B with the phrase “Forgive me,” or something similar... And it would be nice if the person at least bothered and found something that is truly touching. But, as a rule, this is a forwarded message, also received “purely nominally” from someone else... What is the point then? In complacency? It’s like “I completed the ritual, asked for forgiveness, passed the baton - yes, I’m a handsome guy after all!” Something like this... But initially the meaning of forgiveness was something else. To truly show your regret for words or actions to someone who may have been hurt. In fact, the idea of ​​forgiveness literally permeates the entire Bible. And it is implied that they ask for it sincerely, because they regret the pain caused and want to be forgiven. When this is done only for the sake of “fulfilling one’s civic duty,” what’s the point? None... And just like that, many manage to turn apologies into self-justification. And even in a retaliatory attack. In the first case, the phrase “Sorry/sorry...” doesn’t even sound. Instead, people hear something like “Well, I didn’t want to.” Those. - a person does not so much apologize for the offense as he tries to justify himself by saying that he “didn’t mean to”... In the second case, everything is even more “enchanting”. Let’s say someone did something or said something, came to sort of apologize, but (!) it sounds like: “Well, excuse me, but actually you yourself...” or “Forgive me, but and you, too, are so-and-so.” Those. again - instead of sincere apologies, a person shifts responsibility from himself to others. Generously seasoning it with something like the guilt of the latter, etc. And the highest aerobatics is the conviction that there is nothing to apologize for at all. Moreover, not only on an ordinary day, but even on a church holiday. There are probably no comments here... Well, returning to the topic of pictures... If you need to ask someone for forgiveness, you should not do it in the form of a picture or SMS. Because, in addition to insincerity, it generally looks like some kind of mockery. If you can’t meet, then find the strength to at least call and do it over the phone. And the “on duty” picture is not only insincere, but also a sign of disrespect... frivolity of intentions or something... Forgiveness is needed not even by the one who asks for it, but by the one who forgives. The person asking, if he does it sincerely, he has already “worked through” it. But the one who forgives... if he also forgives sincerely, then he has also “worked” and himself has reached a higher level (if we talk about spirituality). There are, of course, those who do not know how to forgive. They are a different story. If they understand that they still have something to work on, that’s already half the battle. If not... well, everything has its time... And, finishing the article, I want to once again remind you of the “Broken Thread” exercise. It can and should be done, for example, in cases where, for some reason, it is no longer possible to ask a person for forgiveness or forgive him by saying so personally.