I start most Mondays the same way, with silence, solitude, and prayer at a local church. Yesterday, my time was cut short by an early morning service, but I counted the interruption as some sort of omen and decided to stay.

In that service, an older man took the podium. He shared of Eva Kor, an Auschwitz survivor who’d agreed to meet with a Nazi doctor—Dr. Hans Munc—in her home in 1993. There, Dr. Munc admitted that he’d watched as so many Jews were gassed at that death camp during World War II, though he’d taken no part in the murder. Still, he’d not done anything to stop it, and for this he was sorry. After the meeting, Eva wrote Dr. Munch a letter forgiving him. Two years later, Dr. Munc and Eva met at the gas chambers in Auschwitz, where he signed a statement tantamount to a Nazi confession. There, Eva issued a counter-declaration, granting amnesty to all Nazis.

Kor could have lived with justifiable anger and hate for the rest of her life, but through extending forgiveness, she made peace with her enemies. In an interview with the Miami Herald nearly five decades after her time at Auschwitz, she spoke of the power of forgiveness, saying, “I felt such freedom… I was no longer a tragic prisoner. I was free of Auschwitz… Forgiveness is the seed of peace.”

Though Kor had been a free woman for over fifty years, she admitted that some part of her, some fragment was still locked away. Through forgiveness, she freed herself from that prison, which is to say, she recollected that fragment.

Kor’s life demonstrated a truth: if we refuse to forgive those who’ve hurt us, we locking some piece of ourselves away in a bitter prison. And as I left the serendipitous service, I considered the way I’d locked parts of myself in bitterness. There was a name on my mind, a person I knew I needed to forgive and forgive and forgive. (Forgiveness isn’t just a one-time act, see.) I said the name once, twice, three times, and though I didn’t sense my own fragmented self coming back together in the moment, I know it is.

Examining the Fragmented Life: Have you locked a piece of yourself up in bitterness and resentment? Push into the practice of forgiveness and see if you don’t sense a growing freedom.*

*Caveat: This is not to say that forgiveness releases the very real emotional effects of some abuses. So, as you practice forgiveness, seek counseling if needed.

A Tool for Defragmenting

THE BOOK OF WAKING UP —a book on addiction, attachment, and the Divine Love—is available now! So, order a copy or ten at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookish (my favorite indie bookseller). Then, forward this post to a friend and ask them to read along.