Know anyone who is angry about being fired, or about a failed business or a disappointing relationship? Do you see how that anger continues to cripple that individual – not the company, the business partner or the brother-in-law – but the individual holding on to the anger? That anger saps creativity, causes attempts at goodness to appear artificial and renders a split soul.
The #1 characteristic of highly successful people is “integrity” as documented in The Millionaire Mind by Thomas Stanley. Integrity means whole, unbroken, undivided. It describes a person who has united the parts of his or her being into a spiritually rich and unified wholeness.
At the Passover Seder, when Jews celebrate the memory of their exodus from Egypt, they taste a bitter herb to recall the old days of slavery, but then immediately override that bitter taste with matzo and wine, symbols of liberation.
We all have situations in our lives where we have to choose between the seductive appeal of getting even, attractive but harmful to our “integrity,” and the cleansing power of forgiveness and moving forward. You give up power by remaining resentful – and regain strength and authority by not giving in to the temptation to get even.
Have a little matzo and wine tonight and walk into tomorrow with your head held high.
Dan Miller's Blog 
July 16, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Nice photo! In the future you might use a picture of matzo instead of leavened bread. Just FYI. Additionally, the matzo reminds us that we were in a hurry. I do not (ha, ha!) recommend eating matzo throughout the year. I does not have much flavor. Although there are flavored varieties, they are not usually kosher for passover.
Enjoy leavened bread when you are able!
G-d bless you. I may leave a phone message for you. I hope you’ll return my call.
July 16, 2010 at 7:50 pm
Weird picture selection with bread in it when you are so heavily referencing a holiday in which leavened bread is not eaten.
July 16, 2010 at 7:51 pm
I’ll help you with any Jewish questions if you have that need. Although I’m sure you know rabbis. I’m in process of becoming a rabbi.
I need your help with business etc.
Reading 48 days…love it!
Would you consider phoning me next week?
(817) 456-3656 I’m in Seattle.
G-d Bless you and yours
July 16, 2010 at 10:24 pm
Yikes – I knew I was going to get hammered about the picture. I actually have some that are more realistic with matzo but they weren’t nearly as pretty as this one. So I made it appealing but not realistic.
July 16, 2010 at 10:52 pm
No offense intended regarding the photograph.
Again, it is a great picture. Matzo is not great to look at online.
My comments were just FYI.
I hate online communication…so much room for misinterpretation.
Blessings,
Zev
July 17, 2010 at 12:53 am
I tend to meet many people in the blue collar world that feel they have been wronged and spend every day with that low level of anger but not enough anger to do anything about it.
Josh Bulloc
Kansas City, MO
July 20, 2010 at 4:15 pm
In June of 2002, I was fired from my receptionist job because I left to go see my dying mother in another state. (My father had passed away 10 months earlier and I had to go be with him at that time, so they didn’t like it that I left to go see my mother also). I was actually fired by my boss on the telephone, nonetheless, while I was sitting at a hospice with my mother!! It was a dark time for me as I wondered where I would go to work next. I had been doing part-time transcription (a job I absolutely LOVED and still do!) and eventually, I got the transcription job full time. I am an independent contractor, work from home, and it is the dream job I have always wanted. And, I am fantastic at the job, which helps a lot! My mother only lived 28 days after she was diagnosed with leukemia, so I have never had one single moment of regret for the decision I made to go be with her. God had a special plan through all of this for me and my husband and it has turned out much better than I could have EVER dreamed! In my experience, His ways have always been WAY better than I would have ever imagined!
July 20, 2010 at 7:49 pm
Thank you for the story of forgiveness. My wife passed away 6 years ago from a prescription drug reaction, leaving our twin two year olds motherless and me without the love of my life. The drug company had done some legal maneuvering that left us without recourse against them. I harbored the anger against them for a couple of years. That anger slowly turned me bitter and hateful. My supportive friends noted the change in my behavior; my As the realization hit me of what I was becoming, for the sake of my children and myself, I had to forgive the pharmaceutical company, fully and completely. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. They killed my wife and then hid behind the law.
As a result of forgiving them, I found a new life and started becoming the daddy that my children desperately needed! I started becoming the man that God so desired for me to be. I’m not there totally yet; but I guess that is why our Father gives us years to our lives; trials, tribulations, and triumps to challenge us and meausure our progress.
Recently, I lost my job because of some people covering their political behinds. It has gotten to me. I can’t seem to keep a coherent thought, start and keep a schedule for the day. My fiance really worries about me. The depression is overwhelming some days. I’ve always been a go-getter, an entrepreneurial spirit. Your lesson today has helped me recognize the pattern that I was following in those dark days 6 years ago.
Thank you for the uplifting message. It reminded me that I must forgive before I can move onward and upward.
I’m still not sure what I am going to do for a career, but the future seems a little brighter. Thank you and God bless.
Scott
July 20, 2010 at 8:35 pm
Scott – oh my goodness. What a horrible tragedy. It sounds like you’ve moved past the crippling effects of unforgiveness. The challenges for keeping that slate clean confront us every day. But the power of putting yourself back in the driver’s seat of your life is refreshing and energizing. Keep that mindset as you explore the best options for this next chapter of your life.