Day 6: F
April 6, 2013
"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong." Mahatma Gandhi
While there are people that can and would argue that there are offenses and situations that are unforgivable. You may be religious and you may not. But, I have always thought, if God can forgive us, then why can't people forgive? Is the inability to forgive a selfish characteristic? I think it is something that definitely needs to be taught. There is a process to forgiving, I think it is too superficial to say "o.k., I forgive you" and all is forgiven (granted, this might work for some).
However, my experience is, when I don't work through a process then there are feelings and memories that will creep back and it is like experiencing the hurt all over again. It has been my experience that within the art of forgiveness, you have to forgive yourself as well. After your forgive yourself, then you can tackle working through the memories and feelings. If you are holding onto negativity, it will only hurt you. When we continue to hold onto the hurt, it festers and will become toxic, literally, within our bodies. If this is something you are really struggling with, then you should seek professional help (either through therapy or a counselor of some sort). It is hard to let go, keep in mind that everyone is different and unique, we all come from different experiences what you might not even get upset over, I could hold a personal grudge for. So, while it is easy to say 'forgive and forget', I know it's much - much harder to do. It is my personal opinion that the peace from forgiveness empowers me - where if I hold onto something, then that is giving the power over to that person. Until next time or the next... dream ~ K.E.Nowinsky
