A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ON FORGIVENESS…
Forgiveness. That word makes a lot of people cringe, however, I believe it is one of the most important things we can do for OURSELVES and others. I personally believe that forgiveness holds karmic value and lessons in this lifetime. I have learned a lot about forgiveness over the years along my journey that I can now look back on and understand why I feel so strongly about the power that this word holds. I get it. Forgiveness can be hard. There are circumstances that are beyond fathomable that seem forgiveness is an unlikely option. I am always so impressed by people who have gone through some horrific trauma and manage to forgive the person responsible for their pain. These people are enlightened beyond measure. But maybe that's part of why we are here. I have an intense appreciation for the act of forgiveness.
When I was going through a difficult divorce a few years ago, I definitely needed some desperate help with forgiveness. I was hurt, sad, angry and completely confused during that time. I always say that the Universe gives me exactly what I need at the right time. I happened upon the book Radical Forgiveness by Colin Tipping and it was exactly what I needed. I didn't even finish the book, that's how powerful it was. I got the messages I needed about halfway through, but even more than that, it led me to delve deeper into how I FELT about forgiveness. Through meditation and journaling, I found my way and the thing that rang true for me.
Here is my secret to forgiveness: I am a believer that we are all here as spiritual beings, having human experiences. I may even believe that we come here with karmic contracts and things to work on. I also believe that things happen FOR YOU and not TO YOU. I believe that the Universe is watching out for me. I believe we meet people and have experiences for reasons not known to us until later in our journey. Now, you don't have to believe ANY of that in order to appreciate what I am about to say. It will just help you understand how I got to this understanding of others. Here it is: When I started to realize and view the person that had hurt me as a person that is here, on their own journey, also having a human experience and navigating this world, I began to have more compassion for them. Everyone has their own demons, their own flaws, their own addictions, their own traumatic experiences, their own beliefs and their own struggles. When I decided to look at the person who had most recently hurt me as someone who was also hurting, struggling and doing the best that they could with what they had at that time, then that perspective changed everything for me. When I made the decision that this person wasn't intentionally born to hurt me, but was also navigating their own path in life, it allowed me space to move into a place of compassion for them. From there, the realization that my experience with this person, and all of the people from my past that I needed to do forgiveness work with for that matter, were experiences that I began to appreciate for everything that those experiences taught me. I began to appreciate what I learned and who I had become by meeting these people along my path and the lessons and experiences were an invaluable part of who I have become on my journey. And the amazing thing is, I began to love and appreciate those experiences because of how far I have come.
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I now embody self-love and compassion for myself and for others because of this acknowledgement. We are here to have interactions with others that we can choose to learn from on our journey through this lifetime. Everyone we meet and interact with, or have relationships with, teach us something about who we are also are. Forgive. And forgive some more. Watch how your world changes through the power of forgiveness.
