Self-Forgiveness

by Aleasa Word                                    Copyright 2019

​When we think about forgiveness, we usually think about forgiving others. We know that harboring ill feelings towards others because of how they treated us or what they've done really hurts us in the long run more than the other person.  Logically we know this is what we need to do, however our subconscious mind hangs onto the pain associated with the act like it was the last sandwich in a food drought. 

Just as we know we need to forgive others for own peace of mind, the truth is we, need to forgive ourselves as well. With the forgiveness of others, it's sometimes easy to forgo that when we don't see those persons on a regular basis. We can fool ourselves into believing it's not necessary if they aren't a daily part of our lives. And even when they are in our lives regularly we can come us with some type of normal to justify the unforgiveness we harbor. When it comes to ourselves, it's an interesting situation. We are with ourselves every day. When we feel we have done something wrong we often beat up on ourselves over and over again. We punish ourselves as if somehow that will undo what we did. Truth is we can't change the past. It is the past for a reason....the time passed us by. All we can really do is work from today forward. We can do our darnedest to be the best person we can be today and every day after. We can look at our mistakes and find the lesson in each one so we can move forward. We can look at the teachable moments and see how we can apply the lessons to our future as building blocks. We can look for opportunities in each lesson and help others. This is a great way to start the forgiveness journey for ourselves. Not doing it will leave us sad and vulnerable to depression and isolation. 

Life is not a one size fits all event. It is not perfect and there is no manual for every situation. I encourage you to keep doing the very best you can and give yourself a break. Cut yourself some slack. Love yourself even when you've made choices that weren't the best. 

​Photo: Pixabay

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