(photo: @jasonhogan)
“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” — Lewis B. Smedes
Forgiveness does not erase the past, but looks upon it with compassion.
To withhold forgiveness keeps alive emotions of hurt, anger and blame which discolour your perception of life.
To forgive, avoid ruminating on thoughts of being wronged. Rather, trust the power of forgiveness to heal the hurt and pain.
By holding on to pain and resentment, you suffer because the sorrow is intensified to keep it alive.
Despite people’s perceptions that forgiveness means to forget, its motive is preserved in self-forgiveness and the role you played in co-creating the circumstances.
This does not mean you consented to what transpired. Given your involvement, even as a victim, you forgive yourself regardless of your role.
Forgiveness means to let go of hatred, instead of allowing it to eat at you.
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“At the end of the day, forgiveness is really not for the other person’s benefit at all — it’s for our own. Regardless of how illogical it may seem at times, it is through unconditional forgiveness that we surrender the past to the past and enter the present, freeing ourselves to stand in the infinite Light that knows how to heal our deepest and most painful wounds,”
Check out the rest of the article here.