Forgiveness does not promise to fix something, change someone, erase a memory, or…be easy. It does not promise the mathematics will line up: that you will be paid back, protected or guaranteed emotional restitution. No, forgiveness is not always justice or mercy or ultimately fair.
It is not a pill you take once, a magic wand you waive over a situation, a gavel you slam, a finger you point, a wager you accept—something you do to get something.
It’s none of those things.
And still…it works.
How?
By keeping you constantly, emotionally in the moment.
Forgiveness, broken down to its simplest action, is a choice to not let life stick to you longer than it needs to.
In the same way we breathe in oxygen and exhale what we don’t need. In the same way we eat food daily and our body removes what it doesn’t need. Our thoughts and emotions need a filtration system that experiences life day to day, and—for the health of the mind and heart—takes in life and let’s go of it.
Un-forgiveness is our mind not breathing.
Anxiety is our emotions not flushing.
Resentment, anger and judgement is our mind not letting go.
We must let go.
Not because it didn’t happen.
Not because it didn’t hurt.
Not because we weren’t wronged.
Not because the other is innocent.
Not because it will change what happen.
Not because you won’t need to let go again tomorrow…you will.
Forgiveness is the soul breathing.
So breathe.
Let go.
Release.
Move on.
Forgive.
For your mind uses electricity, and each thought held and recycled and processed and repeated, takes up energy. And life is too short to use your energy putting moments on repeat…even the good ones sometimes.
Sometimes we need to forgive and let go and move on from good moments too; for we can either be held back by sorrow or joy. Wether a good memory or bad, they are past tense, and life is waiting for us to let go, engage the moment and press on toward what is next, what lies ahead.
Forgiveness is a choice to look ahead.
To use our energy, our imagination, our emotion and put it toward the creativity potential we each have to move life forward.
No, we don’t forgive because it will erase the past, but because we don’t want the past to repeat itself.
Forgiveness is turning our memory into a tool for good, our history into heart, our sorrows into sanctuary.
Forgiveness lightens our load and equips is to take the next steps.
It is breathing, exhaling, processing, letting go, imagining, moving on.
Forgiveness frees our minds to think new thoughts. For how many hours and days has that person taken from you by now? How long shall you give someone mental territory? How many more hours would you like them to have? Decide now: 5, 10, 100?
How about the last hour being the last.
How about giving your mind to serve it’s greatest purpose—new thoughts.
Forgive. Let go. Breathe. Move on. Imagine.
For life is too short, your energy too precious, your time too valuable to spend another day in the misery of un-forgiveness.
Not because it’s easy.
Not because they deserve it.
Not because it’s a magic pill.
But because it’s a tool to use daily (like yoga or drinking water or taking a walk) to keep your mind moving, unstuck, unclogged, filtered, light, able to take in the multitude of life’s experiences with maximal perception and clarity.
When we don’t do this, we get numb. Our energy, our senses, our emotions start to numb the intake. For we’re on overload: processing last years, months, weeks or days problems today, instead of today’s problems today. This is why we snap. Why our fuses get soo short: we’re full up, constipated with shit from life last week.
Forgiveness brings back the sensitivity. For our system is cleared and we’re ready and able to handle more experiences. Cause un-forgiveness doesn’t just numb us from pain, it numbs is from joy and hope and peace and love too. Un-forgiveness numbs experiences, for its backed up and overloaded on experiences. It needs space, to exhale, to let go, so it can engage in life today.
And that’s where we need to be: engaging life today, with today’s mind, energy and heart. We don’t live today off of last weeks breakfast, and so we don’t think and feel today because of last weeks highs and lows. We need to get present.
We need to be here, now, today.
Forgiveness brings us to the moment, actively present and alive and ready for whatever is happening now.
So…
Breathe.
Let go.
Move on.
Forgive.
It’s not easy.
It doesn’t fix the past, but it helps us filter the past and move on so we can be present, alive, useful, creative, giving ya the energy we need to engage and moving forward to fulfill our personal destinies and desires.
Forgive yourself for not forgiving.
Forgive them for not saying sorry.
Forgive them for not being able to understand what they did.
Forgive yourself for letting it happen.
Forgive yourself for not knowing better.
Forgive yourself for not being able to say you’re sorry.
Forgive life for being unfair.
Forgive the weather, Trump, the fake news, our human history, the wall, religion, your parents, your ex…whatever is taking up unnecessary space in your head. You’re paying for it. Feeding it. Eating and drinking and sleeping to create the energy so you can think and feel and act. You are supporting the thing you hate and are holding onto.
I get it. But let go.
Move on.
Forgive.
Focus and do you. Take all those moments and time back. Reclaim your brain. Your emotions. Your time. Move from being a victim to empowerment.
Forgive. Forgive. Forgive.
You deserve it.
You’ll be better for it.