It’s no secret about what sets us free, it’s ourselves. And the path to this freedom is forgiveness. Staying mad, harboring anger and resentment only keeps us stuck. We stay caught in the chasm of dissatisfaction and then wonder at how we got there and why we stay there. Surrender and forgiveness are the keys that unlock the door that lets us out of self-imposed suffering. How we go about setting ourselves free is the difficult part.
How do we let go? How do we become compassionate with others? How do we forgive ourselves for things that seem unforgivable? We can start by remembering that all is forgivable, but this takes practice. It’s the repetition of small acts of forgiveness that begin to melt the hard edges of rage and resentment and release us from our suffering. We remind ourselves we are worth forgiving and that others need our forgiveness just as much as we need our own. We look at the big picture with gratitude and perspective. Again and again, we remind ourselves, we practice letting go and forgiving. Then repeat.
Most times we exaggerate. What we’ve done isn’t nearly as bad as we make it out to be. We need to deflate our sense of shame, and when we feel ourselves slipping back into blame and unworthiness we remind ourselves that it’s not the way out, it only digs us deeper into the places that hold us prisoner. In the final analysis it is always up to us, we have to decide to do things differently. We have to make choices about how we want to live and what we want in our lives. Love, compassion, forgiveness. We keep reminding ourselves, write it down, post it on the fridge. Every morning apologize for being so hard on yourself, for the mistakes you’ve made, for the anger you can’t let go of yet. And when we can finally do this for ourselves it will be easier to do it for others.
Remember. Practice. Let go. Forgive.
This is the cycle that leads to freedom. Open your heart to yourself, let in the love and acceptence for the way things are, for the way you are, for the way others are. This brings the magic gift of peace deep within the soul.
Live along the lines of forgiving and one day you’ll wake up in its healing embrace.
kb
