How does one address and let go of injustice that can’t be resolved? The experiences can range from slights to terrible things, like my friend having a loved one murdered and the murderer going free. I understand that we move through grief by discovering our desires, like finding justice in other ways, e.g. helping others not be bullied. But letting go of injustice can be really difficult. Is it a matter of not getting what we want? Are there ways to move through this kind of grief and find other kinds of desires?
Someone who has experienced a terrible tragedy
The situation you have in mind—the murder of your friend’s father—was in every way a journey of love and devotion that’s now coming to a close. The beautiful things that were provided as a result of this terrible event included the reidentification of Self as spiritual aid, of angelic acts of pure love, of frightening acts of great courage, of witnessing the murderer in his comfortable home dying slowly with a great weight on his shoulders, of the consummate act of mercy in invoking her father’s name to his face, of being a detective helping to solve the crime, and looking at every path available, to the extent that she outshone every detective on the case.
Does this sound like a beautiful life? Yes, it does to us, too. In doing so, she helped to save her family from the worst: homelessness, health issues, disregard for life, a tendency toward self-defeat. Throughout all of this she came out with the most beautiful kinds of expression that she could possibly consider—she drew pictures, she loved her family, she helped others learn to bring out the best art in themselves without caring about payment or anything of the sort.
Her work of art is the self that was created in her ability to move through this horrible event into the kind of life we spiritual aids love to see: a life of service. In this, her life shines as an example of someone who has not ever needed our support, in a sense, because she’s been totally tuned into her own sense of greater Selfhood: an angel among individuals.
We want to express to her that the kinds of events she’s needed to fulfill her destiny are now complete, and she needs now to put the story together to share with others as a beacon for whoever will see it. The critical part of what she’s addressing now is the birth of her new self, the self that has no need to go back over things except to put them in the grave forever. This is to say nothing is ever lost. The story will be told, and the implications of the story are wide ranging. Giving herself time is the key here. There’s no rush, there’s no need to continue to look further for any kind of lessons. She’s got it together now and she will persist in telling the story, which is all that’s left to do.
The art of grief, therefore, is what she’s learning. This will be great indeed.
How we can all relate
The way others might see this is tragic, and it is, however you’ve not realized yet how you can grow beyond what you think you need. Tragedy is part of living and to move beyond your expectations of things being clear, simple, and always wonderful is not how life is. This is a fantasy that you’ve invented to cope with life.
The truth is that tragic things have their own beauty. See how this works in your lives. Take hold of the tragedies, don’t ignore or try to dispose of them. Let them tell you where you need to go next. Be grateful to tragedy for moving you into deeper realms of life. Take hold of them and don’t let go because tragedy is part of the great story of life.
Then go forward with a sense of finding justice where you can while including the ability to forgive, too, because the world will not survive without it. Take hold of the things you love, you want to protect, and let everything else go, because you will find that the day-to-day existence you find yourself in is exactly the one you need, and your desires will flow like water into a dry creek. So do so.
