There are many people we can point to who are great examples of how we can forgive terrible acts of cruelty and move forward without bitterness.
Nelson Mandela, the Dali Lama, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Gandhi are four who stand out in just about everyone's mind. There are many others.
We think of these men as great, even special, standing head and shoulders above the rest of us. And herein lies the problem. If we think they are special, we are likely to believe their benevolent acts are beyond us. The truth is, what they did is within our reach to do also.
If they did it, we can do it also. If we put them on a high pedestal, we take away the significance of their actions. What they did is special because they are ordinary--just like the rest of us.
If we hold them in too high esteem, we won't see the possibility of our having the capacity to do the same generous acts.
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