There's something so fascinating about rags to riches story, the kind that tells the story of an oppressed girl rising to power and winning over her oppressors. We love these stories especially if these tales are depicted in movies with the heroine uttering lines like "Bukas luluhod ang mga tala" or "Gumapang ka sa lusak". We celebrate the heroine's successes and cheer when she morphs from a doormat into a successful, sophisticated woman. We celebrate their successes as if it were our own successes. These characters are so attractive, so engulfing, and well, fictional people that we could identify ourselves with.
We like these stories at some point in our lives, we have been underdogs, a David oppressed by a Goliath. I am not an exception to the general rule. I love these stories. I root for these stories. It gives us hope not only for ourselves, but for those whose odds are far worst than ours.
Lately, I have been smitten by two fictional characters who coincidentally have the same name as mine - Emily Thorne of the American series "Revenge" and Emily Guidotti of the local telenovela "Walang Hanggan". Yes! I watch Telenovelas LOL!When I watch them, my inner David could not help but say " You go girl, these bastards deserve it!".
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| Emily Guidotti played by Dawn Zulueta |
And so this is not a post about revenge, but a post about forgiveness. While its fun to watch how these two Emilies sabotage their oppressors' businesses, family life, and happiness, you could not help but wish that these women would find forgiveness in their hearts and learn to let go of the hurt. Because in real life, one cannot get full satisfaction from revenge. You know what they say - what others has done to you is their karma, how you react to it is yours. The usual form of karmic retribution for revenge is unhappiness. Science says that no two object can occupy the same space. This principle applies to emotions as well. No two totally different emotions can coexist - happiness cannot be felt when there is anger and resentment in our hearts. All the plotting, scheming can be tiring, its much more easier to let go, to forgive, to forget, and just plainly live your life well.
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| Emily Thorne played by Emily Van Camp |
We are not perfect. We make mistakes, lots of them. So when someone has hurt us, just remember when you have hurt another person and that person forgave you. Forgiveness is an act of compassion and when we think of times where others have shown compassion to us, its easier to be compassionate to others.
So forgive. Let go. Hit the reset button and start over but you can keep watching the two Emilies. I know I will. ;)
