In sales, people talk about the idea of “going first”, meaning that if you want someone to feel a certain emotion, you can feel it yourself. If you want someone to be happy, you can set an example by being happy. If you’d like people to forgive you, or themselves, you can be a model for that behavior.
On the flipside, if I feel sorry for myself or feel guilty for things I’ve done, others might follow my lead and blame me. And even if they don’t, it might color my perception so much that I believe they do.
The biologist Rupert Sheldrake proposed the idea of “morphic fields”. He believes that the universe is a creature of habit. When something happens once, it is more likely to happen again. And when it happens many times, it is much more likely.
When we assume the sweet responsibility of forgiving ourselves and others, could it be that we set a precedent for the universe, with our forgiveness echoing in every soul, ready to forgive more and more?