Forgive People

1. This week, in the midst of holiday shopping, travel plans, programs, and parties I feel compelled to bring our attention to what could arguably be the most important action on your to-do list this season: forgiveness.

Forgiveness. 

Take a moment and observe your body as you say the word.  What happens?  Does something tighten? Does your breathing change? Does anything feel heavy?  Does life feel expansive and joyful when you say that word or do you feel dread and constriction?  It’s definitely a loaded word for most people.

We shy away from it because we feel a little guilt about the grudges and judgment we hold.  We want to roll our eyes at people like me who are calling for us to let go of this thing that feels impossible to relinquish.  Living with the ideal in mind and choosing to stay where we are creates such an exhausting dissonance that to close the gap requires us to either forgive or decide it’s not important. So if we can’t picture letting go then our only other obvious choice is to convince ourselves we don’t need to.

Why Forgive?

Why I’m choosing to write about this today is because I want you to make room for what 2015 can hold for you.  And it’s hard to invite more love, connection, peace, creativity, intention, health, and joy into your life when judgement and anger are taking up space, consuming your energy, holding your subconscious hostage.  It’s hard to sincerely say to God, or the Universe, “I want a more abundant life”, when our very actions are showing that we want to sit here and hug this rock of anger a little longer.  It’s hard to show up with love for the new people we meet when the story we play in our heads sings an unforgiving tune of “People disappoint me.  I should be wary.  I need more protection.”

There are many motivations to forgive people, but the one I care about today, for you, is that I want you to have more amazing connection in your life in the year ahead.  I want for you more love, more laughter, more revealing, more play, more touch, more understanding, more empathy, more affirmation– all the things that come with being truly connected to others.  I want that for you so very much.

But you can’t move forward with both arms open wide for more connection if you’re still looking back, trailing a bag of rocks behind you.....
"LIFE BECOMES EASIER WHEN YOU LEARN TO ACCEPT THE APPOLOGY YOU NEVER GOT"
and remember “One of the keys to happiness is a bad memory.” ...
-ATUL