There are many different ideas regarding the concept of Spirituality. For some it has a mystical feeling that is for other people and not themselves, for others it is synonymous with religious services and still others see ‘being spiritual’ as a step on the road towards sainthood. This is because they feel that to follow a spiritual path is not compatible with living in a modern world of ‘dog eat dog’ and everyone looking out for ‘number 1’. They feel that if they ‘turn the other cheek’ they will lose by it.
What is meant by ‘turning the other cheek’?
To turn the other cheek is generally taken to mean choosing to ignore or forgive a wrong done to oneself and to give the wrong doer a second chance. It is seen as the ‘spiritual’ thing to do but is this necessarily the case? Indeed forgiveness is a very fine quality and is something that is part of walking a spiritual path, but it is not always understood.
To be able to ‘turn the other cheek’ and forgive a person or situation, you first need to know the reasons why it happened. You need to know what, if any, part you played in what happened and the circumstances surrounding both the situation and the other person. Only then can you make an informed decision about how you wish to handle the situation. A difficult situation well handled can be turned into a very positive experience for all concerned if someone has the will to make the necessary first move.
Sometimes it seems that it is always the same person who makes the first move to resolve a situation and this can be for a number of reasons:
•some people seem to be natural ‘peace makers’
•some people seem to be unable to bring themselves to apologise or take the first steps to resolve an issue even when they realise that it will remain unresolved if they maintain this stance and have a tendency to rely on others to do it for them
•some people are unable to tolerate bad feeling within their circle of family and friends
While it is always desirable that problematic issues are dealt with, how they are dealt with is important too. You cannot live an earthly life without difficulties occurring during that lifetime and there will be times when you are the cause of those difficulties which, of course, makes dealing with them your responsibility. Dealing with them well is part of your personal growth and development.
However, you must remember that this is true of everyone else too and there will be times when to take on a responsibility that is not truly yours would be wrong for not only you, but everyone else involved too. In such a situation you would bring about a much better result if you were to make the attempt to help everyone involved in the situation to understand what had caused it.
To turn the other cheek also means knowing when a situation or perceived slight is really not significant enough to warrant a reaction from you and that to mentally step away from the situation would be the best solution on that occasion.
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