Fear, Anger, Hate

Two quotes that are related. Bonus points if you can guess the source (of both, the first one's easy!)
"Fear, hate, anger, the dark side are these."
If he'd thought about it, I'm sure he'd have included blame and resentment as well.
And:
"There's magic in forgiveness."

Now, the reason they're related - they're all about emotions, and emotions that are ones aimed at someone or something.
That often leads to a trap though - because it's all too easy to focus on the target.
You fear Someone.
You hate Someone.
You blame Someone.
And you forgive Someone.

But the problem here, is the really important person in these emotions, is not the 'someone else'. But you.
The real reasons these emotions are 'of the dark side' is nothing to do with what you fear or hate. It's because they taint your perception of the world. They're an insidious poison, that skew your worldview, and make it a darker place.

That goes double if the thing you hate, fear or blame is yourself. I'm sure everyone's done it, at some point or other. That feeling of failure, of guilt that leads to self doubt, and self hate.

But still - it's not the subject of the emotion that matters, but the source.

The reason forgiveness is so inextricably linked though - forgiving someone is _also_ very little do to with the subject. It's all about letting go and putting aside all those dark side emotions. Forgiving isn't about forgetting. It's about letting go of that poison inside of you, and letting it go away, rather than clutching it close to your heart, where it can most hurt you.

So next time you feel tempted to 'stray towards the dark side' - just stop and think for a moment. Who's that actually hurting?