Forgive and Move on

I heard an interesting lecture the other night at a function at the Federal Reserve Building. The speaker was discussing the importance of being grounded during turbulent times, that when when we experience stimuli from outside ourselves, our first reaction is emotional and not rational. The purpose of our emotional reaction is to protect us from physical danger (ie, rattlesnake), but it is quite often inaccurate in perception. In other words fear distorts perception.

The lecture was a financial seminar, and the speaker was discussing the psychology of poor investment decisions. Most decisions made "in the moment" end up being destructive to one's portfolio. It is the investor who is aware of the fundamentals, the actual strengths and weaknesses of the company, that is best equipped to weather the technical chaos of an emotional market. That strategy of intentional goal-tending is what turns "horrible days" of stock crashes into buying opportunities for companies that are well-funded, well-led, and well-positioned for the future. True, you might miss the elusive "pop" that motivates the day-trader, but the point is investing. His advice was 4-fold: 1) know what you can learn; 2) admit you don't know what's going to happen next; 3) prepare yourself for living amidst uncertainties; 4) make choices that are based on integrity and responsibility.

Then the speaker said something about his book, "Moral Intelligence", and the importance of forgiveness in experiencing life as your "ideal self". He said that forgiveness is the ability to let go and move on. Forgiveness is not about accepting someone's behaviors; it's not about going back to the way things were, or pretending there are no consequences...consequences are a type of reality-check.
Forgiveness is just letting go of your own agenda, and moving on in one's own life. It is surrendering the right to hold onto a hope or grudge.
Forgiveness is the freedom to enter life loosened from the shackles of the past.

I look forward to my new life, knowing that I need Jesus to meet all my emotional and relational needs.
Jesus, please be my spouse, and guide me in your paths. (Isaiah 54: 5-6)

China trip 09

(update: click the title for Tyler's blog of the trip)
Tomorrow a team of students and faculty head to China for a cross-cultural experience. The students have set up a blog at http://hchschina.blogspot.com and will post something here if we find time to get online.
We fly out of Newark, NJ, over the icecap to Shanghai.
Then we head to Xi'an.
Later we spend a day in Huangshan.
We spend our last week in Beijing.
Unless of course we get sent to a quarantine camp because some passenger has a fever.
right... Oh well.
Trust God, then step.