Fall hand

There is no one who sells things without profit or keeps giving without taking. But look at life. There are many things that do not return even if things are given. People often don’t remember what someone has given.

Hate settles in when there is a broken balance between what’s given and what’s to be taken. We feel hatred toward people who took our hearts, time, properties, and money without giving something back. Hatred is so powerful that it darkens people’s complexion, upsets their stomach, and makes them toss and turn at night. Sometimes you want to forgive just to carry on with your life. Don’t call it losing. Forgiveness is the wisest and traditional attitude to deal with hatred.

We can get help from poetry when forgiveness is difficult so. A poem like a gently falling leaf will calm your heart. The writer of the poem, Lee Sang-beom, is over 80 years old and has written sijo, the traditional three-verse Korean poem, for almost 60 years. He must have felt hatred and suffered at some point in his life. The sijo containing the wisdom of an old man gently pushes our hesitating back – let go and empty out, forget and cleanse your heart.

There is nothing easy, but it requires effort as it is not easy. It is fall, after all. With trees saying goodbye to leaves and fruits fully ripening and eventually falling to the ground, fall is a good season to forgive.