FORGIVENESS STRENGTHENS THE SOUL

As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison. Nelson Mandela

I love the power of the message Nelson gives here. I can imagine him speaking these words, as he walked out of prison to meet his freedom for the first time in 27 years. The power and importance of forgiveness was very apparent to him, and through his words and experience, to us. If we carry our bitterness, anger, resentment, and hatred with us, like excess baggage, we condemn ourselves to living our lives in a prison designed, built, and kept up by ourselves.

The ironic thing about forgiveness is that if we do not forgive the other person or persons, they are not affected at all. Many times, they are not even aware of the bitterness or resentment we hold towards them. We are the ones who suffer; we are the ones who cause ourselves to miss out on living our lives to the fullest.

Freedom is there for us, even when we see it not, or when we feel too proud to offer our forgiveness to another person. We often look at forgiveness as a sign of weakness, of giving in to the other person and admitting that they were right or are better than we are. However, this could not be further from reality. Forgiveness strengthens our souls; it frees us from our negative baggage and our prison and allows us to move forward in life. Forgiveness is love: love that strengthens our souls, love that builds us up, love that waters the soils of our lives and invokes growth and positive change. Today's Challenge:

Find forgive for those whom you hold resentment, anger, bitterness, or hatred towards today.

Questions to consider:

Whom are we affecting when we are unable to forgive someone else? What are some of the typical behaviors of someone who refuses to forgive someone else? Do these behaviors display traits of someone who is free, or of someone who is a prisoner? What are some of the immediate results of forgiving someone? What are some of the long term ones?

For further thought:

The process of forgiveness--indeed, the chief reason for forgiveness--is selfish. The reason to forgive others is not for their sake. They are not likely to know that they need to be forgiven. They are not likely to remember their offense. They are likely to say, "You just made it up." They may even be dead. The reason to forgive is for our own sake. For our own health. Because beyond that point needed for healing, if we hold on to our anger, we stop growing and our souls begin to shrivel. Morgan Scott Peck