Peace..

I'm down.
I'm always down.

No.. it's not teenage love.

But I just can't find myself in anything I do.. or in any one I meet. I'm trying to change, but change is swerving me. What should I do? I hope through this thread we'd come together as one.

I hope my change starts with this... first step, in here:

I'm sorry if I ever let anyone angry here. Sorry if I ever hurt you.. or said anything that upsets you.

From mods, to M&M members.. to people who thought my comments are a pain in the ass.

I do feel I am wrong... You don't need to respond if you don't like it... But just know that I'm willing to cleanse my heart.

~ Peace

Abed, before this thread, I have thought you to be noble-minded. I just thought you were misguided at times, or miscommunication led you to act in ways I didn't agree with.
I feel this way about a lot of PnQ members (and people), so don't think I'm targeting you :)

It takes courage to apologize and admit to wrong-doing, especially when you don't make a reference to other parties being in the wrong. That shows to me how genuine your intentions are.

I know some will think you're full of shi*, but not me.
I hope those you've clashed with will consider their own actions, or at least forgive you of yours.
It takes humility and selflessness to forgive... not easy for most people... though I can bet that everyone who reads this has done or said something in the past that they regret. Something they want to make amends for, and wish to grow past.

P.S. Thanks for brightening my day!

A very noble thought and offer, a willingness to see that maybe something went wrong, perhaps.

It takes two to create a wrong, rarely one.
It will take two to fix a wrong, seldom one.
But only one to begin, to let the other see what went wrong.

Humility begins at home
just as Love begins at home
but travels everywhere, touches everyone
when the soul is ready to seek absolution

Good Luck, and God Bless, my friend.

Not to steal the great thunder of this noble gesture , but it reminds me of my back pages

http://youtu.be/3FUGzwUTN80

b Dylan
My Back Pages lyrics

Send "My Back Pages" Ringtone to your Cell

Crimson flames tied through my ears
Rollin' high and mighty traps
Pounced with fire on flaming roads
Using ideas as my maps
"We'll meet on edges, soon," said I
Proud 'neath heated brow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I'm younger than that now.

Half-cracked prejudice leaped forth
"Rip down all hate," I screamed
Lies that life is black and white
Spoke from my skull, I dreamed
Romantic facts of musketeers
Foundationed deep, somehow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I'm younger than that now.

Girls' faces formed the forward path
From phony jealousy
To memorizing politics
Of ancient history
Flung down by corpse evangelists
Unthought of, thought, somehow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I'm younger than that now.

A self-ordained professor's tongue
Too serious to fool
Spouted out that liberty
Is just equality in school
"Equality," I spoke the word
As if a wedding vow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I'm younger than that now.

In a soldier's stance, I aimed my hand
At the mongrel dogs who teach
Fearing not that I'd become my enemy
In the instant that I preach
My existence led by confusion boats
Mutiny from stern to bow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I'm younger than that now.

Yes, my guard stood hard when abstract threats
Too noble to neglect
Deceived me into thinking
I had something to protect
Good and bad, I define these terms
Quite clear, no doubt, somehow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I'm younger than that now.
[ Lyrics from:

LP. Forgive me if I dont feel wholly convinced of your attempt to change. You have said some dreadful things to many people, MMs have felt a good deal of that. I cannot speak for the full club, but I do hope that you are being honest, it would be nice to turn an enemy into a friend. peace to you Abed, I hope that these are not empty words from you. Good luck with the new you.

Aboudie, I think with what you opened up for me, not from so long...I got to know you a lot more than i ever did, and much better than I ever could..
You are one of the strongest ..out of those i've seen having personal problems and coming out of it, the way you do. The way you deal with your problems, even those you dont understand or dont even know how to solve.

I think whoever you were mean to, would understand cause there's no smoke without fire, even if you overreacted, now you are apologizing and we are all the same, no one's better, no one's wiser and definitely no one is perfect.

I have learned that to grow, you need to be with peace with your inner self, and to progress in life, you need to be honest with yourself, but before anything, you shall be honest infront of others and have the courage to admit your mistakes.

your major problems were with M and M members, we all know that, I hope they believe in your intentions, cause I do, and I know you wouldn't say such things if you weren't trying to fix it for real.

I am proud of you :) very..Keep this attitude, and all your problems will be solved.

The only thing greater than hope is faith in Love

This is a really nice thread, Abed.

Some will respond kindly and understanding to your words, others may mock you, or turn away, not ready to show you forgiveness. It does not matter. It is all about growing in this life and in order to do that, you have to make misstakes. To own up to them is showing maturity. It is better to be an ass at times, then to be afraid to be anything at all, to be afraid to live, to be heard. The ones who seem to make no misstakes at all usually have big rugs and make good use of them;)

I want to tell you something important: it is not so much about forgiveness and guilt in this life, it is about understanding. When you try and understand the other it is hard to keep on hating...just because the other is different, it does not mean he is less, or less valuable. Understanding is the key to love, love of self and love for others.

Well done:)

Nana and Ingrid, you are both so wise. Love your words.

I'm glad this isn't turning into a thread hating on M&M. I do think it takes two to tango, but I don't think anyone from M&M should be overly pressured into forgiving Abed, or pressured into apologizing.
They are not bad guys. Abed is not a bad guy either.
No one is wholly good, and that's where conflict arises.

We will see what we shall see. I hope for the best.

By the way, Abed, I don't take much personally these days. No need to apologize to me... just doing my job, and if you aren't making it difficult, someone else is! Moderator life ain't no bed o' daisies, haha.

Understand, it is not that I am not ready to forgive, I just dont fully trust what he is saying at the moment. words are pretty, but they can be empty. He has not shown that he is sorry, he has only stated it. His actions within the site from here on out will prove his honest intent. I am not one for second chances without reason, I have no reason to trust him.
Truth of intent is shown, not told.

I think it is absolutely noble that he has created this thread and took the first step.

Peace - I think it's what we all want in any language.

Abed, I hope that you find the inner peace that you so deserve in life. I think this is a beautiful step to achieving that.

:D

x

Pressured into forgiving Abed, or pressured into apologizing

^

indeed :) I think it's inevitable feeling anyway, it's not a responsibility as much as it is a natural feeling.

In all cases, Abed's words, were good to be said., at least for the tension to die :]

Draco, I completely agree. Words are the first step, actions to back up the words are what follow. It's easy to apologize on a whim and forget about it a few days later. It's harder to strive toward a tangible, gradual, "real" change.
It takes a lot of positive encouragement and willpower.

The first step in anything I believe is usually the hardest. It has taken a lot of courage for Abed to take that first step.

I respect that completely.

I do agree that no one can be forced to forgive someone. Forgiving someone should come from the heart and be one's own choice.

Even though someone may not be able to forgive him I think the main thing here is to allow peace through the members which can still be done even without forgiveness.

All we need is respect xxx

This is such a feel good thread lol

I do agree with positive encouragment, but I also beleive in honesty. I will not lie to him and tell him I think what hes doing is noble, thoughtful or otherwise, I will tell him I have a hard time believing what hes saying and I will tell him that I hope through his actual intent I see a change in him, I want peace has well, but being that war is my actual job being a soldier, I cant say that hes honest. Judging from past experiances with him, Im not sure I should beleive him, I want to, I want to forgive him, I want to say thanks and start a form of friendship with him, but its not that simple. I have watched promises and apologies be made with the intent of betrayal, I have seen people be hurt becouse they thought they could trust someone. Im not about to just have faith in a man that has been cruel to not only me but friends of mine. I will watch and see how he acts and reacts to people, including myself, and see if his intentions are honest, then once I am satisfied that he really has or is at least actually trying to change I will forgive him.

Abed, dont take the above information the wrong way, I really want you to complete this inner transformation you are attempting, I do, I want to put all the slack and bs behind us and start fresh, I desire that. but you must prove your words are not empty first.

Abed, I am proud of you. You are noble. I will never be noble like you for I can't simply forget things. Wish I could but remember that old proverb: you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Maybe I should blame my star sign. But I confess I am guilty for not ignoring who don't respect me or the others. A woman my age should be undisturbed before some attitudes. But I simply can't change my nature. Anyway, I am proud of you. I will always be proud of you.

Everyone makes mistakes, but it is the person who owns up first, is where our sympathy lies.

Gandhi and MLK would be very proud of you today.

"Whenever you are confronted with an opponent. Conquer him with love."
--Mahatma Gandhi

"Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, "Love your enemies." It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. Just keep being friendly to that person. Just keep loving them, and they can't stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they'll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. That's love, you see. It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love. There's something about love that builds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. So love your enemies. (from "Loving Your Enemies")"
--Martin Luther King Jr., A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

Why apologise?

If you have an opinion, say it... If people dislike you for your opinions, then its on them...

Only apologise if you have wronged someone, and clearly you haven't shown any of the sort

Wrong thread Noir! This one is about love them all (incl. liberals), so they do not hate you any more.

Lol... I am speaking generally lonely soul, not personally... but if someone did... It would be funny

It's not as if M&M is blackened at all because Abed has apologized. Apologizing does not make those you apologize to evil. It does not erase wrong-doing either, and I personally do not sympathize more with whoever apologizes first.
That would be like disliking whoever slings the first insult first, and considering retaliation somehow less wrong.

I think it is good to be skeptical about someone if they have hurt you. And if they are genuine in their desire to make amends, they will understand the skepticism and try to make amends anyway... If they are not genuine, the skepticism will make them frustrated and we'll start seeing the "apologizer" playing the martyr -- "Oh look, I apologized and they still don't like me, go punish them!"

^ Noir: See you don't hate Jane or her thoughts anymore. Just had to open the blinds from those shiny liberal eyes!

Loved your thoughts. True liberterian, and honorable, that is what made great people (Gandhi, MLK, Mandela) greater. But all of these liberterians, reached out in their heart to give more love to their oppressors, to win them over to their side. None of them picked up a sword.

^ Jane: Am I differentiating? am I ? Really?

You came forward in an instant when this thread was posted. So, that was equally noble of you.

I am not even thinking of anyone in particular.
But, if someone perceives otherwise from my comments, I truly apologize.

A Lonely Soul, I don't think you meant anything by it, but I was worried what you wrote might make it look like you think M&M are "the bad guys," even if that's not what you meant.

Never mind though, I'm just being too cautious :)

Ignore me...

Well , in that case Abed will have to work doubly harder to win them over, if they still have doubts.

I'm not yearning to win anyone. People may like me.. resent me.. or even be neutral. It's just that I did what I should do.. and I feel good about it.

Let's not take Abed and M & M somewhere they might not want to go, with our personal analysis...

He apologized, I showed my respect and encouragement (for example) regarding this step.
Nothing more or less..

To be believed by those most concerned, is someone else's business, and to prove, is Abed' business as well.

We shouldn't give our self the permission to interfere further...well that's just my plain opinion.
it will only cause drama, when it's a matter of time..until the truth is fully revealed.

It has been said earlier, time proves everything.

---

edit:

I'm not yearning to win anyone. People may like me.. resent me.. or even be neutral. It's just that I did what I should do.. and I feel good about it.

^

:) (Y)

I got a little carried away :)

You're right, Nana.

Abed:

How very profound of you to say what you said in your original post. I tip my hat to you.

That was very big of you to post this topic.........you have great potential . The Universe is proud of you . Shukran :)

This thread was completed in the first post. That was your entire message; it was a strong one, a clean one and finishes the purpose.

Just lay it out there; for those who can accept it will do so, those who cannot will not. Either way takes and gives nothing away or to your own position.

For myself, in our most polemic arguments I never lost faith in you, my friend.

A good man will forgive, a wise man will remain weary.
Good luck with everything you wish to accomplish,you can do anything شاء الله

Once I had a life outside of poems and quotes....

..I forgot the password for it

http://youtu.be/c61Tk1PBC5A

^Michael, so beautiful....I just heard it.

Another Christmas/Universal Peace on earth prayer/song that I have heard so many times, that never fails to energize people who seek to follow the path to peace. So moving to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BkoaPTeZM0&feature=related

A solemn one that comes to my mind, originally composed during the Civil Rights movement as a Church hymn (http://www.loc.gov/teachers/lyrical/songs/overcome.html), but later found in various versions all over the World, more recently sung by Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen and others in various renditions that hits home with Peace:

We shall overcome, we shall overcome,
We shall overcome someday;
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We shall overcome someday.

The Lord will see us through, The Lord will see us through,
The Lord will see us through someday;
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We shall overcome someday.

We're on to victory, We're on to victory,
We're on to victory someday;
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We're on to victory someday.

We'll walk hand in hand, we'll walk hand in hand,
We'll walk hand in hand someday;
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We'll walk hand in hand someday.

We are not afraid, we are not afraid,
We are not afraid today;
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We are not afraid today.

The truth shall make us free, the truth shall make us free,
The truth shall make us free someday;
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
The truth shall make us free someday.

We shall live in peace, we shall live in peace,
We shall live in peace someday;
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We shall live in peace someday.

And a French one for Abed and his land of hope, I hope he can find the lyrics somewhere and provide a translation for us. It certainly sounds beautiful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRf3Qy6jnUY&feature=related