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Sometimes it helps to get a little dose of encouragement—along with a good cup of coffee!—to start the day. Today we discuss "forgiveness."

Hopefully the message below will help you get off to a good start for the week.  Please feel free to forward the newsletter on to others that you think would benefit from the content.

Forgiveness

This week I’m taking on one of the most challenging topics in existence – forgiveness. This topic will not doubt raise the hackles on the back of the neck of more than a few readers. Some will offer:

• There is NO WAY I can forgive him/her for THAT!

Forgiveness vs. un-forgiveness

Perhaps that is true. Perhaps not. Each of us has to make that decision. However, as with all things, framing is absolutely critical. I know that for me, when I am in an attitude of unforgiveness I am in a bad mood, don’t feel good, and am out for blood. I don’t LIKE to feel this way, but sometimes I do. What has helped me to get past this feeling is a definition that I read:

• Not providing forgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.

Ouch! I definitely can relate to the “sick” feeling when I’m in an attitude of unforgiveness. And it does make sense that staying in this state is really not having any effect on the person who wronged me.

Forgiveness is a choice (NOT an easy choice)

What the definition showed me is that forgiveness is a choice. It is NOT an easy choice. And it is not a magic panacea that takes all of the hurt away. However, deciding to let the other person off the hook is the only path that I know of that can get us on the path to healing. And that is a gift that we all need to give to ourselves.

That brings us to this week’s question:

• What is keeping you from offering forgiveness?

Thanks for sharing a bit of your time with me this Monday morning.  

Have a great week!

Blog post from this past week:

Monday Morning Motivation - Hope