Do you Need to Forgive the Moment?

On a recent afternoon, three of my herd were out for a neighborhood ride, my husband and a friend astride Seren and Frolic, while I urged Charm forward on the road. A variety of topics flitted through the conversation until anger and forgiveness took a turn.

In that moment, all three horses stopped and left piles of manure on the road. All three- exactly at once.

"Wow, that was an unusual coincidence," I noted to my friends.

Knowing that hidden among innocent equine behavior is often a message, I asked, “What was I just saying?”

My friend repeated, “You just said- you don’t have much to forgive.”

Ah, yes, I had just said that...and for a moment, I wondered about the deeper meaning of the horse’s pooping in unison. And then the conversation took another direction and I have to admit, I didn’t think much about it again.

That is, until a few days later when atop Charm, walking down the street, alone this time, she came to the same spot in the road, and yes, you guessed it, pooped again.

This I noticed, so I quieted my mind to tune in to her.

“As emphasis,” she said, “to remind you.”

“Remind me of what,” I queried?

“Of forgiveness!,” she clarified.

“But I don’t feel I have much to forgive,” I repeated to her my thought from the other day.

“Well, you could start by forgiving yourself. You are awfully hard on yourself, you know,” she suggested.

“Indeed, you are right on that account,” I agreed.

“And then you could try forgiving this moment for not being perfect,” she offered.

Huh?, that was an unusual thing to say, I thought. But as I pondered for a moment, I did indeed become aware of the things I had been noticing which were less than “ideal.” A cloudy sky, a chilly breeze, a walk which I wished were a trot.

So I did as she suggested, breathing into my heart and offering a little forgiveness for this moment, in all of it’s imperfection.

And in the next breathe, I found that the moment became more perfect. My heart softened, opened, becoming more warm, more grateful to be aware of that very moment in all it’s beauty.

And the deep wisdom of Charm’s simple statement pierced through me. Yes- indeed! Why not practice forgiving the moment for not being perfect, for in doing so, it becomes more perfect instantly, aligning us with Grace and Ease.

I thanked Charm for opening my eyes to the value of forgiving even that which seems not to need forgiving, for in that moment, we open to the Truth surrounding us: That all is Perfect!