What if you choose to forgive?

What are you holding on to? Are you carrying resentment, anger or guilt because:

o  Someone betrayed your trust?
o  Something was said or done to you?
o  You said or did something to someone else?

Your power lies in your decision to forgive, or not to forgive.
When we choose to forgive, a number of things may occur. One may be that our shoulders become lighter and our hearts happier.
If you choose not to forgive, you risk becoming an unwilling prisoner behind the gates of anger, pain, resentment and jealousy toward that situation or person. You would be choosing to deny yourself the things that are rightfully yours—happiness and joy in the way you truly want and deserve them. Is anything worth missing out on this?

You might also want to consider:

o  How is holding on to this helping you improve your quality of life?
o  How many beautiful moments will you choose to miss out on because you are still carrying anger and resentment from the past?
o  Is that situation, person or behaviour worth it?
o  When will you choose to forgive and hence set your heart free so you can build a new dream, create a new vision or make a new friend?

Activity:
If you choose to forgive, I welcome you on an exciting journey of strength and courage. Where each and every step is an opportunity to forgive again and again. The triggers will creep up on you from all sorts of directions; a reminder of past hurts, the tone of someone’s voice or words that you may overhear on the bus or on television. Each reminder represents an opportunity, in that moment, to choose to forgive.

Whilst on this journey, it helps to ask oneself:
o  Why am I making this choice?
o  What will I miss out on if I don’t forgive?
o  What will I gain when I do?

The reason that people hold onto pain from the past, is to protect themselves from experiencing it again in the future. They avoid taking a risk because it makes them feel vulnerable and unsafe. This happens because they have not yet learned the lesson from their past experience. In every moment of pain, there’s an opportunity to learn and grow. Ask yourself, “What can I learn from this that will make me even stronger and more resilient?”

This card chose you to remind you that it is your birthright to live a happy, free, and joyful life. The choice to do so is yours.