Forgiveness, a heavy word, a healing word, and oh, such a gift of self-love.

I know we have all heard that forgiveness is not about the other person, it is about taking care of ourselves, and I believe that to be true.

Many years ago, after going through an excruciating period in my life, forgiveness was not on my mind. I was hurt, angry, upset that my life hadn’t quite turned out the way I had envisioned, and it felt unfair and unjust. And, I couldn’t shake how heavy it felt even though I knew I had to accept this new reality and embrace the opportunity to start again.

I found that carrying around that weight, that resentment, and the negative feelings of those I felt had wronged me, including myself, was not getting me anywhere and kept me stuck in the past. Slowly, one day at a time and through a lot of reflection, I realized that forgiving the past, forgiving those who I felt had hurt me and, forgiving myself was the key that would set me free.

Forgiveness became the sweet spot of loving myself. It healed my wounds and also allowed me to understand that those who had pained me also had pain to heal, and maybe some of the pain inflicted on me had nothing to do with me all. Practicing forgiveness softly and subtly released me from the shackles of anger and resentment, and hurt, and as a result, also gave me more empathy and compassion for others.

Forgiveness I found I was a gift I could give myself over and over.

When I start to feel heavy or thoughts that don’t serve me come to mind, I now stop and ask myself, is there someone or something I need to forgive today?

How about you? Is there something or someone you are ready to forgive today?