Make Amends - Admit Responsibility and Clear Your Conscience

I've been reading a bit recently of how people, groups and even countries have been attempting to make up for bad stuff in the past to try and promote peace and understanding. One story about a guy called Pavel, I reproduced below. So I got to thinking how we could use these lessons on a more personal level.

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It's almost certain that there is someone you've done wrong to harmed, had a massive argument or fight with, insulted, and let things get out of hand and to a point where you are not speaking or have lost contact with them.

You've thought about this person more times than you dare to imagine but for some reason, have never made an effort to make amends or wipe the slate clean.

So, go on. Pick up the phone or write a letter. Don't send a message or Facebook post, face the fear and make it personal. Try to put the past in the past by admitting responsibility and apologising. Heal yourself and the situation and give yourself one less thing to worry about.

This is the story of Pavel.

Forced to work in a carpentry shop by day, locked in a barracks at night, Pavel Kotlyarov will never forget the hunger and the hardship. Pavel, a Ukrainian, was one of the millions forced into slave labour by the Nazis. "They fed us so badly, the only thing we were thinking about was a piece of bread".
Fifty years later, some German students in Gersthofen, the town where Kotlyarov was enslaved, tried to make amends for the past. They sent Kotlyarov and other former slave labourers from Kiev a letter of apology and money that they had collected as a gesture of compensation.
The German government has paid compensation of $1000 to Ukraine's 600,000 surviving former slaves, but the students, as well as many others in Germany, feel the need to do more.
Cities have been sponsoring trips to Germany and raising money to provide aid packages for former slaves, who are mostly now in their 80's or even older.

What to do next.....

Today is Sunday and its the day to make amends so pick up that phone, write that letter and get back in touch with someone you have lost contact with. Your fault, their fault or for no reason, if you're no longer speaking and once cared about them, take that first step. If they don't respond, no matter but you can at least put it behind you. You just need a little humility and 10 minutes of your time. The pay-off could be huge. At the very least your conscience will be clear, at best, you may rekindle a long lost love or renew a beautiful friendship.

Friendship matters

Good luck

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@nathen007

Life's not about the hustle. It's all about the humanity