Tiny Buddha: Wisdom Quotes, Letting Go, Letting Happiness In

A really nice reminder. Not always easy to do, but definitely something to work toward. Thanks!!

A really nice reminder. Not always easy to do, but definitely something to work toward. Thanks!!

Forgiveness is one the best gifts we can give – not necessarily to the person who wronged us, but to ourselves for making the decision not to allow the past to hold us hostage any longer.

Alex

I’ve found a new meaning to the phrase ‘ to forgive and to forget’. That is to say, I find that to truly forgive someone for hurting me, I must truly forget that person i. e no longer have that person in my life causing pain and hurt. Similarly if that person is (unforgotten) and still in my life causing pain and hurt, I find it impossible to truly forgive. 

This theory of mine however, is in the context  of removing negative influences from one’s life, and not in context of the spirit in which you’ve written this post. 

X

I know what you’re saying. I think sometimes it’s impossible to forgive until we’ve set a new boundary to take care of ourselves.

Interesting perspective! Would you care to expand on this? I’m curious what this looks like in action. If you’re feeling angry, resentful, frustrated, etc, what would you do to work on the influences of the ego and let go of these feelings?

Why do I feel so very sad and depressed even when I have forgiven my girl friend who sometimes says mean things that really hurt me? This also happens when I do not show my anger for something she had done wrong?
I am a person who tries to avoids arguments so I never say anything to anyone. Is this depression because of my inability to vent out my anger?

gollum-I know all too well about this topic and understand  how you are feeling.  I spent many years not wanting to ever let anyone know if they upset me.  As I got older, I got very sick for one year with many stomach problems. They had to look inside my belly with a camera only to tell me that nothing was wrong and my stomach doctor told me to go to a therapist.  Years of unresolved feelings and resentments manifested in me physically.  I soon as I opened up to people about all the things that had bothered me, the stomach problems went away.  Some of my relationships were compromised for that decision but now I am a healthy and happy person and other people are missing out.  I wish you the best!
Michele

I was talking about exactly this today. About having compassion for others and perhaps reconnecting to ourselves. It’s only by letting go of all our baggage that we can find out who we really are underneath it. Thank you for this.

I’m listening to a Deepak Chopra audio right now “Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul: How to Create a New You” (great listen by the way!) One of the points that I just listened to and coincides with this post is about stopping the tug-of-war that anger can bring about. For example my neighbor has constantly made me upset, to the point of tears, and instead of forgiving her I held on to it and because of that new problems always emerge. The funny thing is, when I stopped being angry (for a small period I admit) she left me alone. Now I see that it was because I was not playing tug-of-war with her but rather looking inside myself for something better to do. She just naturally drifted out of my energy. I think when you forgive, move on, and stop wasting time on something so negative you reap the rewards big time. The biggest one for me, being able to live in the moment instead of holding on to past moments.

I recently found out that my ex moved on pretty quickly after our break up. After months of trying to get over it, reading articles from tiny buddha & trying to move on, it all just came back to me. It was a mixture of anger, disappointment & resentment. How could he moved on so fast while I was here struggling to put my heart back together. Seeing any girl that resembles his current girlfriend makes me feel small & upset, these emotional triggers make it harder for me to forgive him. I’ve been trying to let go of the past for over half a year now, I really don’t want to stay this way anymore, how can I truly forgive & let go? How can I not see images of him & her in my head & stop feeling this heaviness in my heart ?