This is the time for giving thanks, when we reflect on the family and friends who mean so much to us, when we can gather together and rekindle that spark of unity, when we look around at our lives and appreciate that which fulfills us.
This is a time to appreciate what we have and what we've experienced, even some experiences that may appear on the surface to be nothing but negative. For me, such a purely “negative" experience could be the loss of my son, Tariq, to a senseless gang-related murder in 1995.
WHEN TRAGEDY STRIKES
However, tragedies can destroy you or make you a better person. I thank the good Lord that I was able to transcend the negative and get to a better place. Of course we all have that choice. Today, I thank Tariq, as he made the ultimate sacrifice and put me on the path of forgiveness. I also forgive and thank Tony every day as he continues to contribute significantly to the person I am today.
Was my son's murder merely a tragedy or a mystically meaningful experience? It is both! By expanding to embrace such duality here, we can grow and help to heal our relationships with those around us.
AN INVITATION
This holiday season, this Thanksgiving, what can you do to extend forgiveness and heal your relationships? Please, if you are willing, think of someone who has harmed you in some way. Reflect on how they harmed you; give up the resulting resentment in some manner, and then - perhaps in prayer or in person - reach out to that one, with an extension of brotherhood or sisterhood.
After you do so, send me the results via this e-mail. I don't need to know their reaction to you, but I'd be interested in the feeling you hold inside, knowing you have replaced a harsh resentment with a loving, outstretched hand. You may be quite surprised at the result.
Until then ... many blessings,
Azim Khamisa
