Through Forgiveness We Are Set Free

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“To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and discover that the prisoner was you” – Lewis B. Smedes

The purpose of LIFE according to the GREAT LIFE model is to LOVE, INSPIRE, FORGIVE, and ENJOYMENT.  I believe the most overlooked purpose of life is a practice of forgiveness.  Forgiveness is the gateway of peace and serenity. Only until we let go of old wounds, hurt, and resentment are we able to move on to take care of the business of living.

Forgiveness is a central practice in LIFE because I believe that when we are able to practice forgiveness daily are we able to forgive ourselves.  Forgiveness is important to let it just be an act, it should be its own practice.  When we are truly hurt, let down, annoyed, or angered, it may be difficult to let go of the emotion completely. By daily practicing forgiveness builds a strength to let go of the resentments we hold.

We are never free from the resentment we refuse to let go. They become a part of us. They influence our thought process and belief systems and dictate our behavior.  Our resentments becomes a part of a story that sometimes replay over and over. Paul Boese said “Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” If we learn to forgive others for our hurts and search for our part, the role we played, can we move on to a life that is bigger than what is possible with resentment.

Until I learned to practice forgiveness as a daily part of self care, I was a prisoner of my own mind.  I’ve been held hostage by the resentment that my life doesn’t look like I envisioned it would.  Trapped by my resentment I had to achieve to prove to everyone I was angry at, I was better than you… My accomplishments were never good enough for me to let go of my resentment.

My resentments backfired… I will never be enough, no accomplishment will make me enough, until I forgive others and more important – myself for all the choices that brought me here.  I can’t go back and live my life over.  I can’t go back and make a different choice that will make me better off today.  I can’t go back. I can’t go back… I can only forgive and move forward.  Moving on with my LIFE, one-GREAT-day at a time, forgiveness will help me to move forward propelled by my passion and not my resentment.  Forgiveness will set me free to BE who I was always meant to be.  Every minute I live in a practice of forgiveness keeps me free from the ridged confines of  who I should be, so that I’m better than you.

We should be as we are, as we will be, as we were born – HUMAN.  We should forgive humanness. I forgive you for being human.  I forgive myself for being human.  We are not perfect. There is no such thing.  When we ask others to behave how we want them we are asking for perfection.  Forgive and set others and most important yourself free from perfection, humanness, resentments… let go and be set free.

 

We Choose The LIFE We Live

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“Loving people live in a loving world. Hostile people live in a hostile world. Same world.” – Wayne Dyer

The most important key to a GREAT life, in my opinion, is the ability to choose the world we want to live in.  Do I want to live in a hostel world, or do I choose to live in a loving world?

I believe the choice is simple but not easy.  I choose to live in a loving world but I struggle in practice.  In practice living in a loving world means offering and receiving love.  I fear loving, I fear being loved, I fear loosing love.  I fear connection to what I believe can be lost or taken away.  Perhaps having the experience of living in a hostile world for most of my life, I’ve become use to it.  A hostile world is predictable.  One thing you can count on is loss, disappointment, and pain.  So in a hostile world you disconnect.  You never want or love anything or anyone so much that you never experience loss.  A loving world is unpredictable and therefore can be very scary.  Still I choose to live my life today in a loving world.

How do I make the choice to live in a loving world?  Daily I commit my life to it.  I struggle and I accept that while I choose a loving world, fear draws me toward the predictability of isolation, disconnection, and loneliness.  Today, I commit myself to love, connection, and fellowship even when my every instinct is to protect myself from the fear of loss.  I am open to love and accept and offer love knowing that it is not always retuned or appreciated and sometimes it is taken away.

The GREAT life is lived in a loving world.  This is not an option.  If I want to live the GREAT life then I must be committed to living in a loving world.  The GREAT life is not easy.  Living in a loving world it not easy.  I risk, I feel rejection, loss, disappointment and at the end of the day I am thankful!  I feel blessed and look forward to another day choosing the world I live in.