On forgiveness,
Carolyn Mace writes,
Until you surrender the need to know why things happened to you as they did,
You will hold on to your wounds with intense emotional fire.
Your mind may do what's required for healing and go through all the prescribed steps,
But your heart will never fully participate in the healing process.
In the end,
Forgiveness is an act of release,
Surrendering the need for an explanation.
My mother says forgiveness is an inside job.
And she's right.
Forgiveness is an active process.
It is a process of healing.
Acceptance and love are passive.
Forgiveness is active.
So what does that really mean?
We arrive at love and acceptance originally peacefully after having done the real work that lies in forgiveness.
And so,
Forgiveness isn't really about the other person.
It doesn't mean you stay silent about injustice.
You use your voice,
But you don't use it and come from blame or fear.
You come from strength.
Forgiveness doesn't mean that you have to have that person in your life.
You can forgive and you can leave.
When you forgive someone,
You don't try to change that person and you don't condone their actions.
But you meet them where they are.
You accept them.
Accepting others where they are and forgiving them doesn't mean that you let someone walk all over you.
It doesn't mean that you have to endorse what they're doing.
It means you allow them to be where they are and you don't try to change them.
Here's the good news.
Forgiveness doesn't have to be hard.
You don't have to know how to forgive.
You just need the slightest willingness,
The desire to forgive.
You don't have to figure it out.
You don't accomplish it.
You just have to want to forgive.
Let's practice together.
Gently close your eyes and settle into your body.
Ideally seated with your journal by your side.
And notice your breath.
Moving in and out of your body.
Now gently move your focus to your heart.
And today we'll practice from our heart space.
So breathe into your heart and all it represents.
Love,
Resilience,
Compassion.
Breathing in through your heart and out.
And feel your capacity for love.
Feel the bigness of your heart.
And when you feel ready,
Gently open your eyes and turn toward your journal.
And we can start with this prompt.
How have you been unforgiving toward yourself or another person or a group of people?
And how does it make you feel?
How have you been unforgiving toward yourself,
Toward another person or a group of people?
And how does it make you feel?
How have you been unforgiving toward yourself or another person or a group of people?
How have you been unforgiving toward yourself or another person or a group of people?
How have you been unforgiving toward yourself or another person or a group of people?
How have you been unforgiving toward yourself or another person or a group of people?
If you could feel differently,
How might you want to feel?
Regardless of this situation,
This person,
This group of people,
The event,
Regardless of any of that,
How might you want to feel in this moment?
Just write about how you want to feel.
How do you feel?
Ask yourself,
What have I learned from this situation?
What have I learned about myself,
About my heart,
About my strength,
About my resilience?
What have I learned from this situation?
What have I learned from this situation?
What have I learned from this situation?
What have I learned from this situation?
What have I learned from this situation?
And finally,
Only if you're there,
Only if you feel ready,
And with no judgment if you don't feel ready,
Because forgiveness is a process we work through in our own time.
Can you find one thing to appreciate about the other person or the group,
About the situation,
Or about yourself?
What have I learned from this situation?
When you feel ready and complete in your journal,
I invite you to come back to your heart,
To close your eyes and breathe into your heart.
Feel your heart's bigness,
All that love,
All that energy,
Compassion,
Kindness,
Beauty,
All that strength.
And I'd like to invite you to remember the prayer from lesson 122 of the Course in Miracles,
Which is,
Forgiveness offers everything I want.
Thank you so much for spending time with me today practicing and journaling about and around forgiveness.
I wish for you everything you desire.
Blessings,
Thank you,
And namaste.
