Authored by guest blogger: Daniela Forte
Forgiveness isn’t easy, nor does it come quickly and it is terribly hard. Whether you’re forgiving a friend or family member for hurting you, or you have to forgive yourself for your own shortcomings. Forgiveness is a hurdle we’ve all had to face at one point in our lives.
One thing you need to remember about forgiveness is that just because you have chosen to forgive someone, doesn’t mean you have forgotten what they have done. What you have done is chosen to not let it define your life any longer. Forgiveness allows you to be free from the burden of the hurt you have carried with you.
Forgiveness also doesn’t mean you have given these people power over you, in fact you have relinquished the power, you are saying:
“People aren’t perfect, we all make mistakes, and I will no longer give them power over me.”
Once you have done this, you can truly move forward with your life.
When it comes to forgiving yourself, you are recognizing and acknowledging that you have made mistakes and that you are human. Once you have done this, you can allow yourself to radiate into the person you are destined to be.Holding on to the grudges of your own shortcomings or the shortcomings of others not only takes over your life, but prevents you from being happy.
I admit I have forgiven very few people in my life because it is hard, it is hard to overcome the hurt they have caused, or the path of my life they have altered because of what they have done. But, I am on that journey to forgiveness of those that have hurt me because I personally refuse to let it define who I am and who I continue to be. When it comes to my own shortcomings, it takes a lot more work. No one wants to look at him or herself and recognize parts that aren’t too pretty. So many of us are afraid of the vulnerability we could feel, by admitting to ourselves that we have made mistakes. We don’t want to admit that we aren’t perfect (no one is by the way) and that we have parts of ourselves that need altering.
But to truly radiate, we need to accept who we are – the good and bad. And it’s so easy to beat ourselves up with negativity, but what happens is that we become stuck. What I have learned about the times when people have hurt me or I have hurt myself emotionally, is that it was part of a bigger plan, a path I needed to take in order to get where I needed to go. If there is a person you need to forgive, whether it is someone in particular or yourself, don’t be afraid and if you choose to forgive allow it to elevate the person you are.
