The theme of forgiveness has been very
prevalent in my life lately. Recently I had a discussion with a friend about how
do you go about forgiving someone. I have always thought of myself as a very
forgiving person, well unless I had to forgive myself, otherwise I could easily
let past wrongs go. For me as long as we talked about the issue and I expressed
my feelings, I was ready to move on. But what happens when you can't express
yourself. How do you forgive someone who is no longer here or in your
life?
I
believe if I had the answer to that question I would be able to release a lot of
past hurts and insecurities. When my friend asked me how I forgive I told him
about affirmations that I recite, and how writing about what I learned from the
situation has helped me. I have often heard that forgiveness is for you and not
for the other person. So why is it that we often avoid something that will
benefit us?
For one it adds to our stories and the
identity that we create for ourselves. If we have created an image of ourselves
as someone that does not easily trust or that people reject, then having to let
go of that story can be a big ordeal. We even use these stories to create the
identities of others, "this person is always late" or "my friend always says
things that are insulting". So what would it be like if we weren't influenced
by the stories he hold about ourselves and the relationships we have with
others.
Well I want to find out, I personally vow to be in constant practice around forgiveness. Knowing that these past incidents do not create the story of who I am. Forgiveness for me will be a form of release and a chance to renew my faith in the good that is constantly manifesting in my life.
