This, I will admit, was one of the harder things for me to learn.
Over the course of our lives we are let down, hurt, lied to, insulted, ignored, mistreated, snubbed and slighted.
There are times when we think that we’ll never be able to forgive someone for what they have done.
But as the saying goes, “time heals all wounds” – if you let it.
The only thing that is stopping you from forgiving someone is you. You, and you alone, decide when you can forgive another.
Some of you might be thinking, “But I can’t forgive him for that,” or “But you don’t know what she did.”
I understand how you feel, because I’ve been there. And you’re right, forgiveness might not be the right word per say.
Possibly a better one would be to simply let it go.
Most of us hold on to painful memories far too long. And unfortunately the only person they hurt is YOU.
Each minute you give to those that have hurt you is a minute they have taken from you without even doing anything.
They may have caused you pain in the past, but you are the only one who is hurting you now by continually thinking about it, and of them.
Focus on what you have now, and appreciate the lessons they have taught you (even if they may have been tough ones to learn) and move forward, not backward.
The past acts like an anchor on your future for many people because they let it be.
That doesn’t mean I believe forgiveness means you forget everything others have done to you. What’s done is done.
Back in high school I saw a movie called “Indecent Proposal” in which a couple who is down on their luck is approached by a wealthy man with a proposition – $1 million for one night with the man’s wife.
They take the money but the man immediately regrets his decision the moment he sees his wife leave.
Despite promising never to talk about that night the man cannot let it go and it ends up breaking them apart. However, as it is a Hollywood movie, it ends with them getting back together.
But that’s Hollywood, real life is never that simple. Many of us let the injustices of life eat away at us.
The problem is that by focusing on what’s wrong in our lives, we continue to see more of it.
Lay the past to rest, don’t forget it, learn from it and build yourself a brighter future.
Adrian Shepherd
It’s hard to forgive someone for what they have done…
People who let me down or lied to me, don’t realize how much they hurt my feelings.
My father advised me, when I was child, “Whatever your friends did to make you feel bad,
you should not do the same things to others.”
As you said, I should appreciate the lessons they have taught me.