Be the first to forgive……if you want to travel far in life then unpack all of your envy, bitterness, resentment, rage, and fear. Forgiveness is a characteristic of the strong…..and they are strong because they have great love and respect for themselves….this allows these people to not take things personally. They know that they cannot win by trying to even the score……they know that seeking revenge will take more from their soul then it will give them. Forgiveness is the key to personal freedom and peace. Because it is far better to forgive and forget than to hate and remember. What really matters is what happens inside of us…..not to us.
Ego sneaks into our inability to forgive as we are focused on winning the disagreement…..an old Yiddish proverb teaches us “Protest long enough that you are right, and you will be wrong” So if there are people in your life that you need to forgive…..let go of the hope that things could have gone any differently, let go of your need to be right, let go of your expectations that people who know you, know how to treat you. Forgiveness is your deepest need and highest achievement. Without forgiveness, life is governed by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation. It starts with loving yourself….and then you are strong enough to share that love with others as you surrender your pain. Forgiveness releases blessings into your life and supports your efforts in moving forward with love.
Louise Hay said “Take a moment and close your eyes and imagine a beautiful stream of water in front of you. Take the old painful experience, the hurt, and the lack of forgiveness, and put the whole incident in the stream. See it dissolve and drift downstream until it totally dissipates and disappears. This is a time for compassion and healing. Go within and connect with that part of yourself that knows how to heal. You are incredibly capable. Be willing to go to new levels to find capabilities of which you were not aware, not just to cure dis-ease, but to truly heal yourself. To make yourself whole in the deepest sense of the word. To accept every part of yourself and every experience you have ever had, and to know that it is all part of the tapestry of your life this time around.”