health and wellness

Forgiveness is a powerful but underrated and often overlooked force in our lives. It is an essential part of living life to the fullest. Give yourself the freedom and allow yourself to raise your awareness of those that you may silently hold past resentment, and allow yourself to release the subconscious blocks that may hold you back from experiencing the life that you were intended to live, and created to enjoy. But forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting, condoning or excusing whatever happened. It’s acknowledging hurt and then letting it go, along with the burden of anger and resentment.

Regain Empowerment

You must remember that, “FORGIVNESS is not something we do for OTHER PEOPLE.  We do it for OURSELVES - to GET WELL and MOVE ON.” Forgiveness is a letting go. It is a freeing of yourself.

If this is true, then why is forgiveness so difficult?

It is difficult because it can seem like “giving in” or being weak. We don’t want to be weak, so we don’t forgive. It can seem like an approval of what happened. We may worry that forgiving might be an invitation to be mistreated again. Also, not forgiving can give you a sense of power and control through the holding of a grudge. These are illusions, and only keeps you bound to your pain.

Some shared wisdom:

“Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting.” -William Arthur Ward

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” -Lewis B. Smedes

“When you forgive, you in no way change the past - but you sure do change the future.” -Bernard Meltzer

“Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” -Mark Twain

“Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were.” -Cherie Carter-Scott

“The hatred you’re carrying is a live coal in your heart, far more damaging to yourself than to them.” -Lawana Blackwell

Forgiveness recaptures the energy that you were giving away to sadness, anger, and resentment. Forgiveness also empowers you. It actually puts you back in charge of you.

Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource offers four steps in learning forgiveness:

• Acknowledge the pain and anger felt as a result of some one’s actions. For forgiveness to occur, the situation needs to be looked a honestly.
• Recognize that healing requires change.
• Find a new way to think about the person who caused the pain. What was happening in that person’s life when the hurt occurred? Sometimes, the motivation or causes for the incident have little to do with those most affected. For some people, this step includes saying, “I forgive you.”

Begin to experience the emotional relief that comes with forgiveness. It may include increased compassion for others who have experienced similar hurt.

And finally:

Forgiveness is acquired. It is not inherent in the mind. Forgiveness is the key to happiness.

Let us hold in our mind:

Forgiveness offers everything I want.

Today I have accepted this as true.

Today I have received the gifts of God.

                      - A Course In Miracles