The Importance of Forgiveness

                                The Importance of Forgiveness

        Every single one of us has done something bad in our lives. It's understandable, and in fact, it is actually what makes each and every single one of us, human. Humans make mistakes, and for as long as mankind as an existence has been recorded, humans have done some awful things; both to each other and to ourselves. 

       But what most of us do not do is forgive ourselves for what we have done to each other and ourselves. We dwell on it for the better part of our days. We punish ourselves in our heads by calling ourselves names, by considering ourselves bad people, for being ashamed of what we did thinking that if people knew what we did they would never forgive us. We think of this as normal and sane, and that by doing this, we provide ourselves therapy and the punishment we deserve. In fact, the opposite is true. By doing this, we are destroying ourselves bit by bit. We are destroying our sense of self-worth, our self-esteem, and our self-respect. This happens because we define ourselves in relation to our mistakes and faults, rather than our capacity to forgive and to grow and become better. 

      We are not our mistakes. Everyone makes them. The more we learn to accept ourselves for our actions, to apologize to ourselves and those we have wronged, the more we can learn from our mistakes and grow to be the best we possibly can be. The past is the past, we cannot change it, but we certainly can learn from it. 

       Forgive yourself for whatever bad you have done in your life. You're only human. We understand. Nobody is perfect. Don't feel guilt, don't be angry with yourself and start living your life with no regrets. Start living your life for all the possibilities for growth that it will provide you.