The Big Forgiveness Episode

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Last week we talked about decluttering physical and mental spaces. Well, this week, we’re addressing an important part of mental decluttering -- decluttering old hurts. We’re talking about forgiveness. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We’ve all been wronged. Sometimes they’re little offenses. Other times they’re big, hurtful, life-jarring events that rock our world and our faith in humanity. You know the ones I’m talking about. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">How can we move in a positive direction with events like that percolating underneath the surface? </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Well, it starts with forgiveness. Without it, we’ll continue to replay negative events, focus on lost opportunities, and pine for could-have-beens… That’s no way to move forward with meaning and purpose.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>So, what is forgiveness anyway? </strong></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Forgiveness is about</span> <strong>letting go</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Forgiveness is for you</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">-- not the perpetrator of the offense. After all, harboring bitterness and resentment hurts you way more than it could ever hurt the perpetrator. Forgiveness is for you. It’s how we move beyond the painful past to a productive, positive, happier present and future. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Forgiveness is</span> <strong>a process</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">of peeling back layers of hurt.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Forgiveness is</span> <strong>a decision</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">to let awful moments stay in the past and consciously choose to focus attention elsewhere.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Forgiveness is</span> <strong>openness to be