Thoughts on Forgiveness

Forgiving someone is to set a prisoner free and realize that prisoner was you.

-Lewis Smedes

Forgiving someone who wronged you or your loved one is one of the hardest things a human being has to do.

There is something that feels righteous about holding onto to the right to be fuming mad.

And yet, this anger you hold inside of you becomes a poison. As you merge with it ...you become its slave.

When we are wronged or hurt we go over and over it again in our minds. It becomes the banner we wave as we walk through life, the heavy back pack we carry always.

Forgiveness is in no way condoning what the perpetrator did. It is only choosing to untie yourself from bondage.

Forgiveness is a process. You may have thought that you have totally forgiven and then something may happen to you or a loved one that brings up the hard feelings all over again. This is completely natural.

We sometimes think that if we don’t cling to our story it will be lost. The story will never be lost. It is a part of who we are and has helped to define us. It is just that we have the empowered choice of going on and living a valued life.

Forgiveness does not mean that you act as though the event never happened. It did happen and it affected you greatly. It is knowing that you can put it behind you and re-engage in life.

Forgiveness is eventually understanding that hurt people hurt people. We wish it were different. We wish that no one was hurt in their life so that they wouldn’t hurt. But the truth is they are and they do.

Forgiveness is realizing that hard times come bearing gifts. The gift of realizing your own strength, your own power. Gifts of allowing yourself to receive love and kindness from others. Gifts of knowing how to give love and kindness to others.

My favorite quote on forgiveness comes from author Jerry Jamplosky who has dedicated his life to teaching love and forgiveness.

From the perspective of love and spirit, forgiveness is the willingness to let go of the hurtful past. It is the decision to no longer suffer, to heal your heart and soul. It is the choice to no longer find value in hatred or anger. And it is letting go of the desire to hurt others or ourselves because of something that is already in the past. It is the willingness to open our eyes to the light in other people rather than judge or condemn them.

I hope dear friends, that you find a way to open your heart to let go of anything that weighs you down and keeps you from letting your beautiful light shine. The world very much needs your light and your joy.

As always, I love hearing from you!

From my heart to yours,

Brenda Strausz

dearbrenn@aol.com

www.BrendaStrausz.com

The Magic in You

We don't see things are they are we see them as we are.

Anais Nin

When my kids were in elementary school parents and kids were invited to hear a motivational speaker whose name I have long forgotten. This wise man said something that I never forgot.

He said that we should always remember these words: "If it is to be, it is up to me!"

Through the years, that one sentence has cropped up time and time again. My Gremlin has often rallied against it, hoping someone else would do it for me . . . that this book or this class or this guru would teach me how to live successfully in the world . . . that I could sit back and things would happen. One of my most important life learnings is that I have everything inside of me that I need to make my life work. I had it all the time. I just never knew it.

My friend Jane just got back from a week in the Bahamas and was telling me how the weather was unseasonably cool. She said that in the past she would have allowed the bad weather to ruin her week. Older and wiser now, she painted me a picture of how she made a decision to make it a wonderful week in spite of the weather. She put her whole self into enjoying the people, the food, the majesty of the wind, the beauty of the sky and the water. She described how a group of them took their umbrellas and made a shield against the wind as they sang and danced and ate. It was, she reported, one of her more memorable vacations. I smiled to myself as I pictured them creating memories in the wind.

It occurred to me as she spoke that it was if Jane took out a magic wand that she never knew she owned. She took it out and said "Abracadabra! I am going to change my thoughts, my attitudes, and my actions. I am going to enjoy what is here to enjoy! Embrace the mysteries of life! Reach for the joy all around me!"

I thought about Jane's story all day as I contemplated my life and my business. If I forget that I have a magic wand, I am like a boat that is tossed and turned by every wind.

When I open to the truth that magic is mine for the asking I stop asking, "Who do you think you are?" and say instead, "Look out world, here I come!" I stop comparing myself to anybody else and instead focus on my unique offerings. I begin to choose my thoughts and to live fully in my joy. I find that when my mind embraces my unique magnificence, the red carpet is rolled out for me as I say, "TA-DA!" Synchronicities appear! Chance meetings and wonderful opportunities present themselves as if by magic!

Magic is everywhere, my friends. Magic is what turns houses into homes, carrots into carrot soufflés, eggs into omelets, crises into opportunities, meals into banquets, words into poetry, acquaintances into friends, snow days into memories, teachers into mentors, work into joy and passion, ordinary moments into miracles.

Call to Action

• In what areas of your life you can bring more magic to?

• Set your intention everyday to live in ways that make your life more magical.

• Keep your focus on the positives aspects of everything.

• As you open up to being more charge of your thoughts and actions and having more positive thoughts take note of the miracles and synchronicities that appear.

• If you have trouble finding and using the magic within you, use energy techniques like Emotional Freedom Techniques to move beyond the blocks that hold you back from living in your full magnificence.

Affirmations

• I am open to finding miracles everywhere.

• I choose my thoughts and actions.

• My thoughts create my world and I create a magnificent world.

• I am tapped in, tuned in, turned on!

• The whole universe is cheering me on and supporting my every choice.

• Every day and every way, I am getting better and better.

• I find joy everywhere I go!
  

From my heart to yours,
Brenda Strausz
www.BrendaStrausz.com