I GIVE MYSELF PERMISSION - TO FORGIVE

Welcome to Day 26 of the I GIVE MYSELF PERMISSION series on self-love.

Today, I GIVE MYSELF PERMISSION TO FORGIVE.

Forgiveness. This word conjures so many emotions. Anyone who has suffered at the hands of others knows the pain and conflict of forgiveness. How can we be expected to release our perpetrator from culpability, from responsibility? Forgiveness can feel like an acceptance of their actions. Isn't offering forgiveness also offering them the opportunity to do it again? Why should I forgive when I cannot forget.

The answer...Because you love yourself.

A study out of Harvard Medical School reports: "Practicing forgiveness can have powerful health benefits. Observational studies, and even some randomized trials, suggest that forgiveness is associated with lower levels of depression, anxiety, and hostility; reduced substance abuse; higher self-esteem; and greater life satisfaction."

It is a necessary step toward self-love and self-care to recognize the difference between forgetting and forgiving. We can retain the lessons learned without retaining the pain we have suffered at the hands of others, and also the pain you have caused yourself. Release yourself from the burden of your past mistakes. It's time to lay down the weight of the judgement. Open your heart to learning and let it go.

Take a deep breath in. Breathe into your heart. Feel the power of your breath. Allow it to bring healing to your body and your spirit. Repeat today's mantra: I GIVE MYSELF PERMISSION TO FORGIVE. I GIVE MYSELF PERMISSION TO FORGIVE. I no longer allow myself to be hurt by the past. I release all judgement and all pain. I have learned from it what I need and I allow myself to move forward. I release all that does not serve me. I choose loving myself over hating others. I open my heart to forgiveness. I allow myself to be free.

It's not an easy journey, to get to a place where you forgive people. But it is such a powerful place, because it frees you. - Tyler Perry

Don't forget your past. Our memories serves as beautiful reminders but also as the lessons we need to help us make better choices going forward. Let go of what doesn't serve you and hold tight to the beauty that remains.

With love

Namaste