Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Forgiveness

If you look in the dictionary, this is an example of what you may find for definitions of the word forgive:

Forgive
1. to cease to blame or hold resentment against (someone or something)
2. To grant pardon for (a mistake, wrongdoing, etc.)
3.  to free or pardon (someone) from penalty
4. To free from the obligation of (a debt, payment, etc.)

Is forgiveness something that comes easy to you?

I have been thinking a lot about forgiveness these days, and I wonder how we all find the act of actually forgiving someone else, different from forgiving ourselves. Do you feel a difference? Is one easier than the other?

We can likely all agree that each circumstance is different for every person, how we go about forgiving, and the timeline we follow is different for everyone as well. Sometimes, it’s just not as easy as we would like.

I could give you a really big challenge here and ask you to write down all of the people and the reasons why you need to forgive them. What about yourself? Are there things you need to forgive yourself for?

It’s tough right? If we have faith, we know forgiveness is something that happens. That does not always make it so easy. Do you forgive the father who never learned to be a dad, or the mother who never built you up and praised you for all of your attributes? Do you forgive the kid who bullied you on the school ground year after year? Do you forgive your first love for breaking your heart? Do you forgive the man who raped you and took away your trust and your innocence? Do you forgive the person who broke into your car, your home? Do you forgive that boss who was the most horrible person you knew, the co worker who took credit for your idea?

How about ourselves? Do we forgive ourselves for the chances we didn’t take? Do we forgive ourselves for not honouring our bodies, not loving someone the way they deserve to be loved? Do we forgive ourselves for working too much, loving too little, making the wrong choices? Do we forgive ourselves for not taking the leap and moving away to that big new city to attend University?

Forgiveness is a big word, a larger act, and is something we always do. I choose to believe that even though it may not always be easy, love is what always wins in the end. Self love, and the love of others. Big message for a wednesday afternoon, I know!
Thanks for taking the time to visit!

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