I never imagined how thinking of forgiveness as a process of repairing or renewing something that was damaged or fractured would be connected to and present in my everyday life. I was amazed and I carefully began reviewing all what I knew about the forgiveness process. Then I remembered the Jewish spiritual concept of Tikun Olam, which means “to repair and improve the world.” Through each tikun, we are creating meaning out of confusion.

However, to live consciously and to be in the world practicing small or large actions which produce positive results is constant challenge! So my personal challenge begins when I realize the need to perform a Tikun Olam in my inner world, to redo and reconnect the threads of the fabric of my soul. That is always a delicate and ongoing process.

In this challenge, the most difficult and important point is to realize that the Tikun Olan is directly connected. In a very subtle way, to RESPONSIBILITY. In everyday life it is easy to point the finger at the other and in doing so, the responsibility for what happens to me, especially when it is a bad thing, is transferred to the other. If I forget that the world reflects what I am, it allows me, whether consciously or unconsciously, to deny responsibility for everything that happens to me. The act of blaming the other is a habit reinforced by society, a habit which exempts me from taking responsibility for what life has to teach me; this SELF-RESPONSIBILITY is not only with myself, but most of all with the world around me.

I realize that to do an inner Tikun Olam is to bring justice through self-responsibility, it is to practice compassion with myself (accepting errors and knowing that these can be corrected), and it is to understand that in this process I will bring peace to my soul.

The Tikun Olam makes it possible to change myself and the world around me. For this to happen, I need to be aware that this is a never-ending process and that the world reflects what I am. I can then relate to the world through constant positive action that engenders more peace. A deeper mending or healing takes place by assuming self-responsibility and practicing compassion, both of which ultimately allow us to accept others as they are.