For the last two days, I’ve been living and breathing forgiveness as I participated in 1000 Voices for Compassion‘s January link up on forgiveness. I very much feel like a new person and have grown so much. Thank you! It’s been tremendous food for the soul!
As Trent pointed out, you could easily write a book about the nature of forgiveness and what it means to forgive.
However, after all that I’ve read, to me forgiveness is climbing straight up that rugged, almost vertical mountain where you’re dragging yourself along covered in mud, dirt and scratches but when you finally get to the top and look out, you have found the promised land. You are living in green pastures. Of course, it doesn’t last. We have to keep crawling back but the journey is more than worth the costs.
Ideally, however, we catch our issues before they have reached such insurmountable heights.
As I concluded in my own post: it doesn’t matter who or what is hurting you, you need to forgive and quite often this forgiveness is all about the little things. Overcoming the everyday. It’s less about that big one-off apology. It’s a daily thing. Just like breathing, eating, thinking, we forgive.
Over the last two days, I have read over 20 different journeys of grappling with forgiveness: the struggle, the setbacks, the jubilation and the status quo. I have walked in so many different pairs of shoes. Seen and experienced tremendous struggle through those eyes and feel so incredibly privileged to be a part of those. To hold hands with my friends and share the innermost beating of our hearts and very painful memories and to find acceptance, understanding, love…and COMPASSION!!
This is such a treasured gift! Thank you.
In terms of feeding my soul, it’s been like indulging on super foods…a veritable feast (and if you are anything like me, you have to include chocolate in there, of course!) Each and every person has brought something unique and valuable to the table, which has become something of a gourmet pot luck dinner.You open the lid and WOW!!!
I would like to encourage anyone who is struggling to forgive and still feeling whatever kind of angst, to persevere. Keep walking. Even if you only change your position ever so slightly, you have moved. Have a new perspective. Never give up!
If you haven’t already visited the Link Up, I highly recommend it. It’s food for the soul.
Love & blessings,
Rowena
Beyond the Flow 
Well that is lovely Row. It’s excellent that you’ve taken so much from this one.
Yes, Geoff. it’s been incredible. It also shows how you build yourself up by feeding yourself “good stuff”, something “nutritious” but it also shows how the reverse is also true. Keep feasting on your anger, negativity and helplessness, and it multiplies.
Beautiful, Rowena. I wish your soul a good journey on this voyage of forgiveness.
The first to apologize is the bravest
The first to forgive is the strongest
The first to forget is the happiest
(Author unknown)
🙂
Thanks for that Colin and Ray. That’s a great wisdom to remember and even put up on the wall. xx Rowena
Thanks very much, Merril. It’s been a busy day on that front today. I’m sure I fulfilled my 10,000 hours of practice a long time ago but I’ll keep at it xx Rowena
Your post brought to mind the Jubilee year of mercy that the Catholic church is celebrating. While mercy and forgiveness are not the same, they are certainly related.
Thanks for mentioning that Joanne. I’m not sure if you’ve mentioned it to me before but someone certainly has. I’ll have to follow that up. A Jubilee of mercy certainly sounds very apt. A great focus for the year xx Rowena
Joanne, have you read any of the resources? I had a brief look but looks like you need to buy them. Just curious xx Rowena
Here are a couple of pages of free resources with links from official US channels:
http://wwwmigrate.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/jubilee-of-mercy/
http://www.crs.org/resource-center/year-mercy-resources
There are probably similar resources from the Australian bishops’ conference. I would expect that the Canadian and UK bishops also have materials available online.
One of my favorite sources of news related to the Catholic Church is the National Catholic Reporter ncronline.org which has a search function that will turn up multiple articles on the jubilee of mercy.
Hope this helps!
Joanne
After I sent the reply, I read this: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?ca=6afdc107-817b-4c46-8902-80f441136dbb&c=faf03620-b621-11e4-9325-d4ae52754db0&ch=faf51820-b621-11e4-9325-d4ae52754db0 which is one of Richard Rohr’s daily meditations. Hope the link will work okay.
Great sense of freedom and relief isn’t it….I did the forgiving journey last year…I think that was one of the turning points that helped me onto weight loss…..very happy for you….xxkat
Doesn’t it make such a difference?!! Did you read any of the other posts?I was so moved and felt like I’d indulged in a huge feast of super foods for my soul.
I am going to have to get back on the diet and exercise wagon. Eating Lindt chocolate and blogging haven’t been too kind and I’m now finding myself “blobbing”. Had a haircut today. Swim yesterday so now hoping to turn things back round again. xx Rowena
I read a few…and yes, food for the soul….Lindt Chocolate and blogging sound good to me…LOL xxkat
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Food for the soul, indeed 😉
Wonderful to see how reading all the forgiveness posts affected you! This is why we write and why the #1000speak posts matter.
So true. I’ve been recommending them to friends who don’t blog and a few teachers I know. I was actually thinking those posts would make a great book.
Food for the soul indeed! I am still catching up but always feel rather restored after spending time reading through the 1000Speak posts.
Forgiveness and compassion are such important components to healthful living. Blessings to you, Row. ღ
Thanks, Monika. It’s a constant learning curve too. Walking the talk isn’t as easy as you think! xx Ro