Can Forgiveness Eclipse Offense?

Did you catch the solar eclipse? What did it inspire for you?

Written by Brook Schaaf

Should you have been in North America, I hope you had a fine eclipse day yesterday. We partook in a family camping and cabin trip on a large ranch with exotic animals and fellow entrepreneurs. There was a reenactment (mostly kids with decorated T-shirts, swords, and shields) of the Battle of the Eclipse and a lecture by an actual astrophysicist (and entrepreneur). And at the time of totality, total … cloud cover. 

Oddly enough, this got me thinking of FMTC’s recent book club selection, “Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know” by bestselling author Adam Grant. I shall spare you a complete recital of my complaints, but suffice it to say, a better title might have been “Man Without Awareness Writes Book About Self-Awareness.” As I struggled through it, I cursed both Chrystal Roessler on our team for selecting it and myself for approving it, missing what was, in hindsight, obvious ironic foreshadowing. 

Interestingly enough, everyone else, including Chrystal, had similar views. No one rated it higher than 5 out of 10 and one person (not me) even gave it a 1. Yet I will say we still had a wonderful discussion, sharing various heretofore unknown stories and perspectives. Similarly, though our camping army met with defeat, we did so in good company and I wouldn’t have traded the long experience for the short one.

The final reconciliation, then, is forgiveness, a long-planned addendum to my gratitude post last Thanksgiving. In addition to regularly expressing appreciation in my journal, I also add items of forgiveness. The power move here, taught to me by my friend Olga, is to forgive yourself along with others and circumstances in general. For example, I forgive bad weather and myself for bad guesses and choices. 

So, Chrystal, if you should read this, know that I freely forgive you. I just hope that someday, somehow, you can also forgive yourself.