Forgiveness Day 17th July 2023
Welcome everyone to Forgiveness Day! 🎉
Let's celebrate it with Icebreakers 😊
* What's something you would like to let go by forgiving someone or yourself?
* What do you sense to be the main obstacle for you to forgive?
* What are in your opinion some positive aspects of practicing forgiveness?
* Is there a thought you would share to express your forgiveness?
Happy Forgiveness Day to you!
True and genuine forgiveness is soooo very hard... but soooo very worth it!
“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” Mark Twain
@IsayUncle
What a terrific quote. Thank you for sharing that with us all.
Oh, If only...
@YourCaringConfidant
So true <3 thank you for sharing this! :)
- I would like to forgive myself for being such a people pleaser and forgive myself for not allowing me to follow my own inner voice on matters. I know I am only human, i have flaws and imperfect but that's okay. I have learned to be authentically me, and not apologize for speaking out on things that I believe are wrong and not okay.
- For me, the biggest thing for me to forgive is people purposely traumatizing me for their own personal gain, and knowingly disrespecting me or dehumanizing me because they feel its right for them to do so. I know i am not a perfect person and very well made my mistakes and i have learned from them, not repeating them again. However, I do what I can to be kind and reciprocate positive energy as much as I can.
3.The positive aspects of practicing forgiveness, is that you are not forgiving someone for them to be happy or to be back in your life. You are solely doing for yourself, to gain that peace of mind that you deserve after being treated so insignificantly and poorly.
4.If I could express forgiveness it would towards my mom, because now that I am a mom an went through something awefully traumatic with my daughter's bio father, I can see why she did the things she did. Though it may not make it right, I forgive her because she was doing what she thought was right at the time with the resources she had.
* I want to forgive myself for not being perfect all the time. It has taken such important moments from my life when I should have been concentrating on other things, but I chose to waste my time in trying to perfect my wrongs, my flaws, which were irreparable. I want to forgive myself and embrace the flaws I have, because at the end of the day, that is what makes me human; capable, worthy, and deserving of love and kindness. Also, I want to forgive myself for not being selfless all the time. There have been instances in the past where I chose myself above others, whose burden I still carry after all these years. I want to let go of that and understand that sometimes being selfish is good.
* Not so surprisingly, the main obstacle that comes between me and forgiveness is my prewired brain. I find it difficult to forgive myself but I am too easy on others.
* Forgiveness saves you so much time! When you forgive, you also learn to forget, and with that comes self-satisfaction and peacefulness. If one can't forgive, then they constantly overthink everything and waste so much time in their head, trying to overanalyze the situation which promises nothing. So, one positive aspect would definitely be peace of mind!
* "Forgiving somebody does not make you weak, it makes you one of the strongest people to ever live."
Thank you for this lovely post, I got to share my feelings! ❤️
@MeaningfulSilence forgiveness is by far my biggest mental health secret. How I keep peace.
Forgive EVERYONE EVERYTHING!!! It isn't for them. It is FOR YOU!!!
I forgave my legal parents who were never in their lives sorry for a thing they did to me.
Not even when convicted of felony abuses against me.
I don't know what they think of it all now THEY ARE DEAD.
Justice caught up with them!!!!
Forgiveness frees me from the poisonous attacks of others. Cause if someone poisoned you, they're ok if you die from it. That is why they did it, so don't expect them to be sorry or change.
Forgiveness the royal road to freedom!! Happy Forgiveness Day!
@RogueOne1983
RogueOne....hi, sorry to know you went through that, so very difficult to even think about Forgiveness in certain situation.
So glad you gave it some thoughts and realized that it frees you from negative emotions that could ''break you into pieces''.
Wishing you to experience good relationships in the future, sending you good vibes!
@MeaningfulSilence thanks for this great reply, appreciated!
@MeaningfulSilence forgiveness is a personal journey, and it may not happen overnight. Everyone's path to forgiveness is unique. Forgiveness is not about forgetting the hurtful actions of others; it's about freeing yourself from the negative emotions that can hold you back.
@MeaningfulSilence ooh I love this post! Thanks so much for putting it together
I used to not fully understand forgiveness like I do now. I used to think that if I forgave someone, then it was letting them off the hook. Almost saying to them that it was okay to do whatever they did. But as I have matured in my understanding, I am seeing that thats not the case at all
By forgiving someone, I'm actually allowing myself to be at peace. I no longer have to hold bitterness and resentment towards that person. Instead, I can start to move on and heal from the pain etc that I have experienced.
* I would like to forgive myself for not being able to forgive my Mom and holding on to the pain and anxiety from childhood into my adult life.
* The main obstacle to forgiving myself is this guilt I feel towards my spiritual mentor. He challenged me to at the very least stop saying anything negative about my Mom. He told me if I can't he will stop talking to me. I failed and he went away, I went on a shame spiral idk how to get out of.
* Practicing forgiveness generates compassion, and loving kindness. It helps break down negative emotions, feelings, and thoughts.
* Even though I am still holding onto fear and anger towards my Mother for mistreating me, that doesn't make me bad just hurt and fearful. Even though I didn't follow the directions of someone I greatly respect and miss doesn't mean I don't deserve self love or forgiveness. I have to live with me everyday and being at war with myself is exhausting. I deserve peace.
@L4J4
Hello L4J4, it's really sad to hear how many times you have been hurt by those that should have been supporting you. It's admirable you are practicing forgiveness the best you can and... I would put the accent on something you said ''I have to live with me everyday and being at war with myself is exhausting. I deserve peace''. That's so true L4J4.
You deserve peace, love and care. Never forget it!
Thanks for sharing