Forgiveness

“Forgiveness is not a word that comes easily to many people.  It is where the aggrieved have to look deeply within and to find it in themselves to forgive those who have offended them.

          “The offence can take several forms, physical and mental abuse to yourselves or those close to you, be it family or friends.  The offences can be over several years or just a one-off dramatic incident, which has devastated your life and the lives of others.

          “No one knows how we are affected or over how long and to the severity that the trauma might take.  It is how we deal with it as an individual that becomes important here.  All of us are vulnerable at different times of our lives and when a trauma hits us, we fall either mentally, emotionally or physically.

          “We don’t always have the strength or peace of mind to gather our thoughts and pick ourselves up.  Sometimes it takes time and where we need to adjust to what happened to us and to firmly process it in our hearts and souls.

          “This is never easy, but over time we are able to do it and the pain and suffering to us becomes lessened.  We in turn become stronger, more resilient and it is then that we are able or most likely to forgive.

          “It is in the forgiving by us that finally allows that pain to go and for us, as individuals, to release ourselves from that past hurt.  We are able to analyse the circumstances that brought about these traumas and to see if we could have done anything different at the time.

          “Maybe we were in the wrong place at the wrong time, so we need to forgive ourselves as well as others.  Nothing is ever easy or straightforward.  Life does not give us a manual to be able to deal with all life’s circumstances.

“We all have to figure it out for ourselves and learn from these experiences.  It is that which makes us grow and in time behave differently.  Forgiveness releases us from that burden of pain, which we sometimes carry like an anchor around our neck.

          “We finally become free and are then able to carry on with our lives in a better and certainly a stronger fashion.  Learning to love ourselves again to be free of all pain and suffering is what we all owe to ourselves and where peace and harmony can at last be restored and we can finally grow again in love.”

Jenny Ayers

Saturday, 4^th May 2019