Posts tagged with “forgive”
Set Yourself Free: 5 Things You Gain When You Forgive
“When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.” ~Catherine Ponder
Somewhere in the middle of my freshman year of college, my best friend from high school broke up with me. Out of nowhere, she just stopped talking to me. I tried relentlessly to reconnect, but she stopped responding and never gave me an answer why.
For years it was the most painful heartbreak I had going in my life. It’s still what I …
5 Reasons We All Deserve Forgiveness
“To forgive is somehow associated with saying that it is all right, that we accept the evil deed. But this is not forgiveness. Forgiveness means that you fill yourself with love and you radiate that love outward and refuse to hang onto the venom or hatred that was engendered by the behaviors that caused the wounds.” ~Wayne Dyer
When we have been deeply hurt or betrayed by a friend, loved one, or even an acquaintance, it can be incredibly difficult to let it go and forgive them. Some acts seem almost unforgivable, but really not much is.
My belief …
7 Things Your Inner Child Needs to Hear You Say
“Stop trying to ‘fix’ yourself; you’re not broken! You are perfectly imperfect and powerful beyond measure.” ~Steve Maraboli
Have you ever thought about why you can’t move forward? Have you wondered why you sabotage yourself? Have you ever questioned why you so easily feel anxious, depressed, and self-critical?
Inside each of us there’s an inner child that was once wounded.
To avoid the pain, we’ve tried to ignore that child, but s/he never goes away. Our inner child lives in our unconscious mind and influences how we make choices, respond to challenges, and live our lives.…
5 Priceless Gifts You Deserve to Give Yourself
“The greatest gift you can give yourself is a little bit of your own attention.” ~Anthony J. D’Angelo
The other day, when I was out celebrating a friend’s birthday, someone asked about the best gift I’d ever received.
What came to mind was getting my parents’ hand-me-down Corolla when I was sixteen. It was my first taste of being all ‘grown-up.’ I felt like my parents trusted me enough to give me the keys to go out on my own. It gave me a sense of pride and freedom.
Aside from that, nothing else that was tangible came to mind. …
How to Mend a Broken Friendship (Even if You’re Not on Speaking Terms)
“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” ~Mother Teresa
I kept thinking about how many years had passed by. Did I really waste four years by not contacting my best friend?
You see, I had a falling out with my close cousin. Growing up together since childhood, we became best friends—more like brothers through the years.
That was until we had a huge disagreement. We didn’t speak for what seemed like forever.
Admittedly, I was the one to blame. Though at that time, I didn’t see it that way.
When someone means a lot to …
Forgiving Abusive Parents and Setting Ourselves Free
TRIGGER WARNING: This post deals with an account of physical abuse and may be triggering to some people.
“Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness.” ~Marianne Williamson
Growing up in the seventies and eighties with Italian immigrant parents definitely had its challenges. In a family of four girls, I was number three. That in itself was tough enough. Never as good as the first-born and not as loved and protected as the baby. Yes, it …
Two Steps You Might Be Missing If Forgiveness Doesn’t Stop the Pain
“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and realize that prisoner was you.” ~Lewis B. Smedes
When someone you care about hurts you in some way, most people tell you that to move on, you have to forgive.
They say forgiveness is a gift you give to yourself. You have to understand what happened from their point of view. Life is too short to hold a grudge or be angry.
Well, what if you do all that?
You forgive. You understand that they really didn’t mean to hurt you or if they did mean to, you understand where …
7 Habits That Keep You Strong (Even When Things Go Wrong)
“I’m stronger because of the hard times, wiser because of my mistakes, and happier because I have known sadness.” ~Unknown
It’s happened to most of us.
Despite our best intentions, something goes dreadfully wrong.
You suffer a heartbreaking loss, make a terrible mistake, or get blindsided by an injury.
In disbelief your mind cries, “Wait. What?”
And then, “No, no, no, this can’t be happening.”
After the initial shock, when the surge of stress hormones has subsided, you realize that yes, this is happening.
And you can’t help thinking: “But how could this happen? It’s not fair. I can’t bear …
Choose to Forgive and Grow from Your Pain, Because You Deserve to Be Happy
“Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have—life itself.” ~Walter Anderson
“Are you really okay?” I lost count of how many times my immediate family and friends asked me this question.
My positive, light-hearted attitude seemed to be difficult for people to comprehend, but for me it was the only option and means for survival.
I remember the …
How to Let Go of the Pain of Anger and Blame
“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.” ~Nelson Mandela
Has anger ever filled you up so completely that you felt you’d explode?
Two months after I had a baby I suddenly found myself inextricably angry. Yes, I felt the joy and happy stuff that everyone tells you about.
But having a daughter also triggered a flash flood of buried anger, blame, and resentment. And it was all directed to one person—my mother.
A therapist told me once that my mother had “verbally abused” me. That launched a fifteen-year process of rehashing and blaming my …
Letting Go of Anger: Forgiveness Is a Choice and a Process
“Forgiving someone doesn’t mean condoning their behavior. It doesn’t mean forgetting how they hurt you or giving that person room to hurt you again. Forgiving someone means making peace with what happened. It means acknowledging your wound, giving yourself permission to feel the pain, and recognizing why that pain no longer serves you. It means letting go of the hurt and resentment so that you can heal and move on. ~Daniell Koepke
My father leaned back in his overstuffed recliner, eating the double-chocolate raspberry gelato I had just bought for him as he stared entranced at the television.
His feeble …
5 Crippling Lies About Forgiveness (and the Truths That Set You Free)
“Forgiveness has nothing to do with absolving a criminal of his crime. It has everything to do with relieving oneself of the burden of being a victim.” ~C.R. Strahan
It’s not fair, is it?
Getting hurt. All over again.
It wasn’t so bad forgiving them the first time. You rose to the occasion. You became the bigger person. You tried to move on.
You thought you had to. After all, they did ask nicely.
You just knew you’d be BFFs again and go right back to, “Let’s go for Jamba Juice!”
But it didn’t go down like that, did it?…
Forgiving and Refusing to Let Bad Things Change Us
“Humbleness, forgiveness, clarity and love are the dynamics of freedom. They are the foundations of authentic power.” ~Gary Zukav
It was a little after 9:00 PM when my mother’s next-door neighbor called upset, hysterical even. Within seconds of hearing her voice, I knew something wasn’t right.
I was getting one of those calls that everyone dreads. Deep breath. She said that my mother had been brutally attacked and had been taken to the hospital.
Breathe Leslie.
“What happened?” I asked in my calmest voice, trying hard to listen and not react. “Where is she? What hospital?”
A family friend had …
Let Go of Past Mistakes: 6 Steps To Forgiving Yourself
“At any given moment, you have the power to say: This is not how the story is going to end.” ~ Christine Mason Miller
Sometimes you do or say things you regret. If you’ve experienced this recently, you might be struggling to forgive yourself, especially if your actions hurt someone you love.
A few months ago, I had a falling out with a friend. It happened like most misunderstandings do: swiftly and unexpectedly. I barely had time to comprehend what was happening.
My friend was trying to convince me to join him in a business venture, which I politely tried …
The Power of Apologizing: Why Saying “Sorry” Is So Important
“Sincere apologies are for those that make them, not for those to whom they are made.” ~Greg LeMond
When I was growing up, every time I took my sister’s toy or called my brother names, my mother would grab me by the wrist and demanded that I offer an apology. What’s more, if the apology didn’t sound meaningful enough to her, I had to repeat it until my tone was genuine. An apology was the basic reaction to any mistake.
Now that I’m older, I see apologizing as more than just a household rule. My younger self didn’t understand the …
How to Make Ordinary Relationships Extraordinary
“In the end, who among us does not choose to be a little less right to be a little less lonely.” ~Robert Braul
I’ve been married to my wife for almost ten years, most of them involving struggle and drama.
I had two failed marriages before that.
This qualifies me to give relationship advice because, well, let’s just say I’ve made every mistake someone could possibly make while attempting to be in a relationship, so I’ve definitely figured out how not to do it.
Blunders, confusion, and oversights, not to mention abject failures, have bludgeoned me into a few realizations—the …
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