Forgive & Remember Humanity

View the Notes & Transcript Here ⬇︎

SUMMARY
​The world could use more people who remember the humanity that unites us rather than the differences that divide us. At the end of the day, we all want to be happy, so as different as we are, aren’t we all still the same? Check out this episode of One a Positive Note to learn more.

OFFER
Do you and the people you influence have a growth mindset, clarity of purpose, and high value relationships? If you’d like to level-up your psychological capital and emotional intelligence, then sign up for the interactive online course “The Power of Resilience” today at learn.hashtagpositivity.com/resilience

CONNECT WITH THE SHOW
Email: [email protected]
Website: onapositivenote.com

TIMESTAMPS
00:18 Joke about forgiveness
01:17 Insight about forgiveness
01:54 Positive news story about forgiveness
02:41 Insight about forgiveness
04:47 Reflection questions
05:13 Wrap up

LINKS & REFERENCES
Hearst Television (2020, June 22). “I know the value of human life: Bystander helps save police officer following fiery crash.” Retrieved from https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/article/I-know-the-value-of-human-life-Bystander-helps-15356950.php

Lauer, C. (2020, June 23). “Man wronged in past by police saves officer from burning car.” Retrieved from https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news/man-wronged-in-past-by-police-saves-officer-from-burning-car/ar-BB15R2Fh

O’Connell, O. (2020, July 11). “Man reunites with police officer he saved from burning vehicle despite past wrongful arrest.” Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/daylan-mclee-police-rescue-pennsylvania-jay-hanley-a9613931.html

HOST
Jonas Cain is a Learning Experience Designer and Facilitator of Fascination for Hashtag Positivity, a social entrepreneurship that supports emerging leaders and their influencers to develop resilience to overcome life's challenges.

MUSIC
“Safety Net” by Riot
“Lightning Bugs” by Geographer
“A Quiet Thought” by Wayne Jones

TAGS
Positivity, Inspiration, Emotional Intelligence, Psychological Capital, Self-Awareness, Self-Regulation, Motivation, Empathy, SocialSkills, Hope, Efficacy, Resilience, Optimism, On a Positive Note, Positive News Stories, Some Good News

Transcript

​INTRO
Hi everyone! Jonas Cain here with Hashtag Positivity, and welcome to On a Positive Note, the podcast that helps you experience more joy in life through inspirational stories, positivity practices, and little levity.

JOKE
And on that note it brings us to today’s joke about a husband who’s a little frustrated with his wife. You see, early on in their marriage he did something carelessly and his wife really chewed him out for it. He of course apologized and they made up, however, from time to time, she still brings it up and makes him feel bad about it.

After several years of this he finally had enough and couldn’t take it anymore so he spoke up:

“Sweetheart, that was years ago, I apologized and you forgave me, why haven’t you moved on? I thought your policy was to forgive and forget."

“Oh it is," she replied. "I just don't want you to forget that I've forgiven and forgotten."

INSIGHT
Even though this is just a joke, it does point to the truth. How many of us can honestly say that we truly forgive and forget all those who have wronged us? And even if we do mange to forgive, can we even say that forgetting is advisable? After all, isn’t there also truth to the adage, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice shame on me.” In others words, we may forgive the person but remember the action that caused the distress to begin with, lest we fall prey to history repeating itself if we’re not careful and allow others to trample all over our boundaries and disrespect our humanity.

And yet, isn’t there also a bigger picture to keep in mind here? After all, when we remember our own humanity we are reminded that we too easily make mistakes, and just as we wish to be forgiven, shouldn’t we also be happy to offer the same gesture to others? Recognizing this, we realize that as different as we are, we’re still the same.

STORY
And on that note it brings us to today’s positive news story that comes to us from Uniontown, PA, about a man who saved the life of a police officer by pulling him from a burning police cruiser following an accident.

On the afternoon of June 21, 2020, 31-year old Daylan McLee was enjoying a Father’s Day cookout with his family when he felt his home suddenly shake after hearing a loud boom from outside. It was such a forceful shake that he at first thought that it may have been an earthquake, but he quickly learned that there had been an accident just outside his home and he rushed out to investigate, where found a mangled police cruiser with flames getting closer and closer to a leaking gas tank, and an officer trapped inside. Daylan didn’t have to think twice and immediately jumped into action, risking his own life, pulling the officer from the wreck.

The family of Officer Jay Hanley and his fellow officers are thankful for the selfless bravery that Daylan demonstrated that day, and his actions are especially laudable considering Daylan’s past tension with police.

Among a series of unjustified encounters with police officers over the years, the most egregious is a one year prison term Daylan had to endure away from his family after a false accusation by police in 2016, a conviction that was later overruled when surveillance footage completely exonerated him and backed up his side of the story.

During an interview, Daylan shared insight into the incident, "A lot of crazy things are going on in the world, and I haven't had the best ends in life, but I know the value of human life. You can't replace it. … We need to work on our humanity … We’re stuck on how to … to get even, and that is not how I was raised to be. You learn, you live, you move on and I was always taught to forgive big … You can’t base every day of your life off of one interaction you have with one individual. … I don’t want to be called a hero. I just want to be known as an individual who is an upstanding man.”

When the two men met again after Officer Hanley was released from the hospital, the officer stated, “It's amazing when there's true love in people … no matter who you are or where you come from. There should be more people like that.”

INSIGHT
Personally, I believe the world could use more people like Daylan McLee, people who don’t hold grudges and who instead forgive and forget the transgressions of others, even when personal pain has been brought against them, in favor of something bigger and even more important: humanity.

We all want to be happy and make it back home to our family at the end of the day. When we remember that we are all people united in our humanity, we realize that as different as we are, we’re still the same.

REFLECTION

1. Do you tend to hold grudges? Either way, are you happy with the results?
2. How would your life be different if the people in your community remembered each other’s humanity?
3. What advice would you offer a friend who’s struggling to forgive someone?

WRAP-UP
I hope that you’ve enjoyed today’s episode, and I encourage you to leave a rating and subscribe to the podcast, as that’s truly the best way to let others know about this positive resource.

If you have any comments or stories that you’d like to share with our listeners, you can send an email to me directly at [email protected]. And that email is also listed in the description of today’s episode.

Until next time, my name is Jonas Cain and this has been another episode of On a Positive Note.