Forgiveness is the key to happiness. [W-p1.121.1.1]
In my 20’s I had some less than stellar relationships…Okay so maybe into my 30’s too. One particular relationship held a lot of angst. A ton of bitterness when it ended.
Perhaps you’ve experienced one of these too.
I felt attacked. Wounded. Vulnerable. And I was angry. Angry that I’d let myself fall into a relationship that didn’t work for so long. Angry I never set boundaries around what I did want.
At the time I was immersed in this anger. But here’s the not-so-surprising skinny: Holding onto that anger never brought me one extra moment happiness.
It became a heavy burden. It affected my subsequent relationships. I was suspicious of those who wanted to engage in relationships with me.And I became fearful I would fall into the same trap again.
See the pattern?
I had lost myself in fear. By holding onto something that wasn't mine to carry, I was sabotaging everything good the Universe was trying to bring into my life.
There’s a famous story about two men who are getting ready to cross a river. A woman appears and one man carries her across the river. Then wishes her well. After traveling several miles down the road, the man who didn’t carry the woman chastises the first for breaking a religious edict by carrying a woman. Why are you still carrying her? the first man asks the other. I set her down a long time ago.
When we continue to carry what is past, dear friends, we miss what is here for us in the now. Lesson 121 invites us to allow forgiveness into our lives. To release what is no longer ours to carry. The suffering. The sadness. Any despair that comes from reliving tumultuous times which are often projections of our own fears. Replayed over and over again as we expect more of the same.
Eventually I learned to forgive this relationship. To let go. To drop the proverbial angry woman I carried on my back. Lesson 121 invites us to do the same. To look for a single spark in someone we wish to forgive. To see the Divine in them. Then apply this same forgiveness and grace to ourselves.
Forgive dear friends. And in this forgiveness, forgive yourself. There is hope in the gift of letting go. Receive it in truth. Release any burdens the weight of the past may hold. And leave room to welcome in the transcendent future which is uniquely yours to live.
Namaste LightWorker.
All quotes are from A Course in Miracles, copyright ©1992, 1999, 2007 by the Foundation for Inner Peace, 448 Ignacio Blvd., #306, Novato, CA 94949, www.acim.org and info@acim.org, used with permission.