Forgiveness has medicinal value. Anger and other stress-inducing emotions reduce life expectancy and increase risk of heart disease. After all, who can be at ease when filled with anger and resentment? And what is disease but dis-ease, the state of not being at ease.

Letting go can lead you down the path of healing and peace. Forgiving is not necessarily forgetting but it is definitely letting go. Ask yourself does this anger, resentment, or holding on serve me? Does it advance me toward any meaningful goal? Does it contribute to my peace of mind? Does it create positive energy? The most likely answer is none of the above.

Deep forgiveness starts by becoming fully aware of the emotions we are choosing to hold in our hearts and minds, and then one by one releasing them. Forgiveness is often a process of anger, resentment, desire for revenge or retribution yielding eventually to acceptance and release and even understanding. It is important that we go fully through the process, not just attempt to cover up our feelings with feel-good exhortations or pink paint——the emotional equivalent of painting over rust. We may need to go through the forgiveness cycle numerous times and each time at a deeper level of release.

When we hold onto our pain, we hold on to the past, which can not be changed. Forgiveness and release are about the present and the future, which we can change. When we refuse to release our pain, we give the offender control over our lives and perpetuate the offense. When we focus our energy on the offense, make it a significant part of our life story, we are enshrining a “Big Hurt” too close to the center of our existence. Instead, try the “Big Forgive.”

Forgiveness releases your energy, allows you to focus on what you can control, and allows you to demonstrate the power you do have over your thoughts, your emotions, and your life.

What are you waiting for? Your best life awaits you. Release your brakes, shed the load, create the life you were meant to live!

Closing quote:

“To err is human, to forgive divine.” — Alexander Pope, 18th century English poet