Letting go is hard. Especially when you feel wronged. Hurt. Angry.
I’m not saying it is logical. At. All! I’m saying it happens.
We hold on. We hold on to grievances. We hold on to the hostility. We hold on to the anger. We hold on to the pain like a prized possession. Like a badge of honor.
But why!?
Things in the past that are painful, such as unrequited love, a painful breakup, an insult, are replayed in our memory, our hearts, our souls. We rehash and reflect and re-feel the pain, over and over again.
But why do we feel the need to hold on to such pain and anger? Why do we feel the need to make it part of our identity, like a prized-possession? Why do we feel the need to hold on to the forgiveness we so desperately need to express? To release? To accept?
Forgive others. Forgive the experience. Forgive ourselves.
So many questions. All these “Whys.” All this forgiveness.
I’ve been meditating to Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra’s 21-Day Meditation Experience. This session is on Miraculous Relationships. And Day 20 is Miraculous Forgiveness.
Oh boy!
I love how the universe sends me messages just when I need them.
The focus of this meditation is the “gift of forgiveness.”
“If we want to experience loving, life-long relationships, we need to be able to let go of grievances, hostility, and anger. These feelings are a product of our ego self and keep us mired in the past and weighed down with emotional pain.”
Deepok Chopra
The “Ego” is the self. It’s defined as the part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and the unconscious and is responsible for reality testing and a sense of personal identity.
Deepak Chopra says, “The ego knows all your weaknesses, your repressed desires, and your areas of denial, and it will use them against you, to knock you off your spiritual path.”
Sounds about right. The ego really wants to take control. Wants to keep you angry. Wants to make you feel good about being mad because it’s all everybody else’s fault anyway, right?
“To be wrong is nothing, unless you continue to remember it.”
Confucius
But we need to refocus our ego. We need to allow our true self to shine through with self-awareness and begin to forgive.
Forgive others for the pain we feel we they have inflicted on us. Forgive the situation where we felt we were a victim. Forgive time where we feel we’ve been ignored or disrespected or unloved.
And, I know I have choices – no matter what my ego tries to tell me.
I make the choice to forgive. I make the conscious effort to be present. Be grateful. Be aware. Be happy. Let go. Accept.
Our Centering Thought in Day 20’s meditation was, “I experience forgiveness as the flow of loving acceptance.” As I concentrated on those words I felt lighter. I could feel myself beginning to let go of situations and feelings that were heavy in my heart.
I could feel my capacity for love and compassion and healing grow and expand as in Deepak Chopra’s message.
I have a choice. I choose to be happy and forgive.
I release fear and embrace love.
