The act of forgiving is not prejudice to age, sex, social status, race or culture. Forgiveness is a common thread that weaves its way through every society and spans the globe every single day and in essence creates a common bond within the human spirit.
However, as common as the concept of forgiving is to people it is also one of the most complex and challenging things to actually do in the journey of life. If you think about it, it is probably safe to say that every person will at some point in life be faced with the difficult task of forgiving another or in forgiving themselves. Yet as common as forgiving is it is not always something that is easily done for most people.
Why is forgiving others and at times ourselves so hard and why does it often take so long to forgive when it could make such a positive difference in our daily lives? That is a good question and one that I believe most people struggle to answer.
What I do know is that by choosing to not forgive life can be filled with guilt, shame, blame, anger and regret. We can go through our daily lives with the feeling of a heavy heart and the constant challenge of not being able to let go and move forward in our lives. This can be extremely frustrating and can leave a person feeling stuck and exhausted. The beauty in learning to forgive others and ultimately ourselves is that it can truly be an amazing path to freedom. The ugly distractions of anger, resentment and guilt can disappear allowing us to feel at peace and with a renewed sense of clarity and vision to pursue our lifelong dreams.
In the end, forgiving is a gift. It is a gift for others and it is a gift to ourselves. Without forgiveness it would be impossible to maintain relationships and any hope of igniting positive change and a peace filled life would be lost. Reach within today and really search for that inner voice inside of your heart. Let the gift of love and kindness flow taking you to a place where you can let go and forgive. It will make a huge difference in your life and in the lives of those around you!
In peace -
Michele