This is a really big one, and we don’t do this enough – forgive yourself. We often think of forgiving as an act we usually do for others.
The Hidden Meaning of Forgiving
Forgiveness offers us empowering energy. Let’s break the word up here, For-give there is a gift in forgiveness. In fact, when we forgive, we acknowledge the lesson learned, the awareness gained, and the gift that has been given as a result that wouldn’t have happened without it. You could say what I do when something happens that you may want to forgive, “Thank you for – giving me the awareness or opportunity of ___.” Fill in the blank with what you now have the opportunity to do as a result of the situation you’re in.
I Should Have Known Better
A little story of something that happened to me earlier this week. I was reaching for an item up high in my kitchen cabinet. When I pulled it out another thing fell on the counter. It then knocked over a bottle of vinegar which broke and spilled all over the floor. I felt mad at myself as I should have known better. I felt guilty that I had to waste a bunch of paper towels. I was upset that although I wanted one simple thing from the cabinet a bunch of things around it came toppling down and what a mess it became.
The Upside of Using Forgiveness
As you can tell I felt awful, I even felt bad that I felt bad about something so silly. At the same time, I realized that I had to accept this situation the way I was feeling about it. After all, it’s ok to feel bad.
By accepting it, I was able to be open to what the opportunity this situation provided. By causing many items to topple out of my cabinet when I reached for one, I learned that maybe my cabinets need reorganizing. I might want to think about how I take things out of the cabinet or what things I choose to leave on the counter. There are all kinds of awareness that came out of this. Some were little silly things that may not be life-changing but the simple awarenesses were able to help me improve my environment.
I took this as an opportunity to listen to my emotions and accept my feelings. Our emotions are valuable and when we take the moment to for-give ourselves, we get a gift that makes us more aware and free to make choices to move in positive directions and not let whatever happened hold you back.
It was an innocent action that had only good intentions. Seeing it as a positive allowed for more good to continue and resolve any places we feel stuck. Thus, forgiveness is a tool we can use that can heal.
How do you forgive yourself?
Do you have a good practice around forgiving yourself? We welcome you to share your tips, advice, and stories. How are you moving forward and into your forgiveness?
First, be kind to yourself and give yourself the benefit of the doubt. Know that you have high intentions that are good and you are doing your best with the tools and awareness you have at the moment. Put any emotional whip and chains down. In other words, don’t beat yourself up about things. Women are often really good at beating ourselves up. Your friends don’t like to see you push yourself either.
Remind yourself you are worthy, find ways to nurture your soul, and forgive yourself today.
Your Feminine Power Practice for Today
Affirm – I forgive myself as I recognize my motivating intention. I did the best I could with the awareness and tools I had at the moment.
