Forgiveness is the key to happiness.
In my 20’s I had some less than stellar relationships…Okay so maybe into my 30’s too. One particular relationship held a lot of angst. A ton of bitterness when it ended.
Perhaps you’ve experienced one of these too.
I felt attacked. Wounded. Vulnerable. And I was angry. Angry that I’d let myself fall into a relationship that didn’t work for so long. Angry that I never set the boundaries of what I really did want.
At the time I was immersed in this anger. But here’s the not-so-surprising skinny-holding onto that anger never brought me one extra moment happiness.
It became a heavy burden. It affected my next relationships. I became fearful I would fall into the same traps again. I was suspicious of those who wanted to engage in relationships with me.
See the pattern here?
I had lost myself in this fear. By holding onto something that was no longer mine to carry, I was sabotaging everything good the Universe was trying to bring into my life.
There’s a famous story about two men who are getting ready to cross a river. A woman appears and one man carries her across the river, then wishes her well. After traveling several miles down the road, the man who didn’t carry the woman chastises the first for breaking a religious edict by carrying a woman.
Why are you still carrying her? the first man asks the other. I set her down a long time ago.
When we continue to carry what is past, dear friends, we miss what is here for us in the now. Lesson 121 invites us to allow forgiveness into our lives. To release what is no longer ours to carry. The suffering, the sadness, the despair that comes from reliving tumultuous times which are, in reality, only projections of our own fears. Replayed over and over again as we expect more of the same.
Eventually I learned to forgive this relationship. Lesson 121 invites us to do the same. To look for a single spark in someone we wish to forgive. To see the Divine in them, transfer this love to a friend. Then apply it to ourselves.
Forgive dear friends. And in this forgiveness, forgive yourself. There is hope and perfection in this gift of letting go. Receive it in truth. Release any burdens the weight of the past may hold. Leave room to welcome in the transcendent future which is uniquely yours to live.
Namaste
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