Forgiveness is the Key to Your Serenity

Courage To Change — October 15, 2019

Our lives are often tangled messes. Webs of resentment, regret, shame and discontent are so tangled and extensive that finding a string to start unraveling the whole often means getting strangled by the rest of the strings that still hold us fast. Forgiveness is the key to understanding the big picture; which threads to pull to loosen the whole knot. Forgiveness is not about proving anything, or about actual redemption, but about letting go. It’s for you, the forgiver, not for the forgiven. Forgiveness is the key to freedom, your freedom, of spirit, mind and body.

Quick and Simple Disclaimer: The readings in this post are literally taken wholesale out of the book entitled Courage to Change. You can find it at Amazon, Here. The portion entitled Alleged Insight, well that mess is all me.

If you’re an introvert, go buy the book, if you’re a broke introvert, the text from many good books can be found HERE , if you’re in dire straits however, go find an Al-Anon Meeting, it saved me.

Credit: Pixabay

 

Today’s Reading

The most loving form of detachment I have found has been forgiveness. Instead of thinking of it as an eraser to wipe another’s slate clean or a gavel that I pound to pronounce someone “Not Guilty,” I think of forgiveness as scissors. I use it to cut the strings of resentment that bind me to a problem or a past hurt. By releasing resentment, I set myself free.

When I am consumed with negativity over another person’s behavior, I have lost my focus. I needn’t tolerate what I consider unacceptable, but wallowing in negativity will not alter the situation. If there is action to take, I am free to take it. Where I am powerless to change the situation, I will turn it over to my Higher Power. By truly letting go, I detach and forgive.

When my thoughts are full of bitterness, fear, self-pity, and dreams of revenge, there is little room for love or for the quiet voice of guidance within me. I am willing to love myself enough to admit that resentments hold me back, and then I can let them go.

Today’s reminder

Every time I try to tighten the noose of resentment around someone’s neck, I am really only choking myself. Today I will practice forgiveness instead.

“A part of me wants to cling to old resentments, but I know that the more I forgive, the better my life works.

. . . In All Our Affairs

Alleged Insight:

I am so very guilty of this. Focusing on other’s behavior and actions rather than on my own self and soul. The poor me, pity train is a hard one to derail. When you wake up in the morning, you’ve a full day ahead of you, a gift from God, which is why it’s often referred to as the Present. Live life to the fullest, enjoying your Present. Holding on to the past is like trying to pull on the water that’s gone beneath the bridge. The past has passed, and it’s gone. The only things left from the past are those things that we learn, remember and cling to.

While there’s no harm in memories, focusing on them, obsessing over them is literally pointless. You’re sacrificing today’s joy for yesterday’s pain. To be truly free to live your life and be the best possible version of yourself, focus on the good from the past and make notes of your own shortcomings so you can maybe learn and grow.

Others may change because of your feelings on things; it’s possible, if they are so inclined; but the reality is that most people are who they are. Without a major external influence, most people are just going to go on being themselves, regardless of how you feel about things. Thus holding onto your feelings about other peoples actions is kinda like drinking the poison so the other guy will die.

Closing thoughts:

The point of life is to do good, to serve others and our sense of well being (true happiness) is not found in acquiring or possessing, but in serving and supporting. True freedom comes from letting the past lay where it fell, learning the lessons it imparts, and growing from the experience. Once you’re past something, it’s power over you is solely determined by your choice to let it affect you.

Remember:

At the end of the day

In every way,

You can choose to be

For all to see,

Gracious and Awesome