The last quarter of the year has already let some sand pass through the hourglass. It is the time of Thanksgiving. A time to gather, share and remember. But with many memories come grief and very often anger and grudges; they make it hard to feel blessed and thankful.
I want to invite you to forgive. Forgiveness will bring you freedom and the possibility to move on. Open the door to your inner peace. You deserve happiness.
I know it is hard to feel good when bad things happen to us. Especially when everyone around us is expecting us to suffer and be miserable. Try to smile or laugh during a sad moment and you will see everybody around, turn against you. If a situation is sad, you are expected to feel bad, depressed and do not dare to show any sign of optimism. You can’t feel good without feeling guilty. If you feel bad, everybody will understand and support you in your decision to take drugs or medications, but no one will encourage you in your quest for peace through forgiveness. It does not matter how many times you will play the same painful movie; the outcome will not change; but you can.
Let me share with you what I have learned from my own experience. Forgiveness is the strongest medication to all pains and resentment. Resentment is keeping you captive with no release date. In his wisdom, Saint Augustine of Hippo said “Resentment is like taking poison and hoping for the other person to die”. We both know who will get sick, don’t we?
I want you to heal. In order to move on with your life, you need to let go. I mean really let go. Forgiveness is like removing the stone you had for so long in your shoe. The past is history and your present is what you are building now. It all starts with accepting the situation and forgiving all its participants, including you. I know it is easier said than done and you might even get angry while reading this; but please, think about it. Read it with your heart and you will see that it makes sense.
8 turns of key to open your cage:
- Accept that it happened. Keep the story for what it is. Don’t dramatize it.
- Understand and accept the reasons without judging or blaming. Anger is highly destructive. Here is your poison.
- Whatever happened did not happen to you but for you. Acknowledge your feelings and what they tell you. Learn from that experience.
- No matter the situation, you can still make choices at any moment about how you want to go through it.
- There are no right and wrong decisions. Just the ones you can take in a given moment.
- There are no accidents. Just self-created opportunities for learning and growing.
- Our enemies are our greatest teachers. They are reflecting to us what we most need to love and accept in ourselves.
- Forgive yourself. Proclaim out loud, using your name: “I, [name], accept and forgive myself. I free myself from all negative emotions and limiting ideas keeping me in the past. I open myself to the love and abundance I know I have in my life. I am free and empowered to create a life full of joy, love and fulfillment.”
You will realize you have been successful the day you will live your life your own way.
“True forgiveness is when you can say – Thank you for that experience.”
Oprah Winfrey
To your freedom,
Katia
