Forgive the Past (article)
(Another article for your pleasure and learning – Linda)
Forgive the Past | by Brian Johnson
“The person who is to succeed will never let his mind dwell on past mistakes. He will forgive the past in his life and in the lives of other people. If he makes a mistake he will at once forgive it.” ~ Ernest Holmes from Creative Mind and Success
Brilliant.
Living with shame/guilt/a general inability to let the past go and forgive ourselves for mistakes is one of the quickest and surest ways to keep ourselves disconnected from God and, as a result, miserable.
Do you go around remembering and tallying up your mistakes?
Why not switch it around and start keeping track of all the good things you do from now on!
Seriously.
Give it a try.
At the end of your day, write down all the “Magic Moments” from that day when you felt most alive, when you really felt like you were giving yourself fully to the world.
That’s a really simple and *really* powerful way to condition yourself to see the great things in your life and move away from a dominant focus on the challenges.
(And, THAT’s the kind of energy you want in your mind before you go to sleep fer sure. 🙂
Forgive yourself. Forgive others.
Immediately.
Focus on the beauty in your life. Pretty, please.
Recommend0 recommendationsPublished in Senior Chatters
Thank you, Linda for this lovely posting.
I believe forgiveness is a choice we make through a decision of our will, motivated by obedience to God and his command to forgive.
The Bible instructs us to forgive as the Lord forgave us:
Colossians 3:13
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Thank you so much Linda for this post. It is perfect timing for me. Sometimes, especially as of lately, many chatters have posted the exact words I needed to hear. Scary lol. Such were your words. I need to know when to forgive myself. I usually have no problem with others, just myself. And damn if I aint human too. Ty again, Helen xxxxxx
Great blog Linda, thank you xxx
I do have trouble with that word forgive…there are some things that for me are totally unforgivable…but what I will do is not to let their actions dictate my future….for me I think asking anyone to forgive some of the most atrocious acts that have been inflicted on them is just a tad too much to ask or expect.
We all have our own way for dealing with negative events and people that have harmed us, we each need to find the way that works for us and no two people are the same. There are some things in my life that i will never forgive, but this doesn’t mean I am carrying some huge burden around either. I am happy, content and at peace with my life.
I agree, I had trouble forgiving. There are acts that are just too horrible to think about. Maybe forgiving is about allowing yourself to move on, not harboring bad feelings that eat you up. I forgive myself for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. I like that you were able to move on and not carry burden with you. I am proud of you. There were times I felt guilty for things that may have happened…so forgiving yourself is more important than actually forgiving others. Ir does depend on what has taken place.
.
Well said Cat. We all have our own way of dealing with the hurtful things in life. For those I find it hard to forgive, I try to pity them for their actions. Not easy sometimes, but it helps.
Thanks Linda 🙂
Thanks Linda and Polly…and well said Linda, I don’t have to forgive to have freedom, freedom to voice my emotions at those people and events until I no longer needed to was the key for me . I just needed to get it ALL out…only then could I really claim my life back. And yes Linda sometimes we need to forgive ourselves for being a small child without a voice.:)