Global Forgiveness Day

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

This week’s independence celebration is always a mixed bag for me. I love celebrating that we gained independence from another country’s rule, and yet we have so far to go to be in the place where ALL people, regardless of race, or creed, age or sexual orientation are free. We have such a long way to go before people mean more than profits.

I realize how often my own emotional baggage gets in the way of feeling free within my own life. Regrets, unspoken, or poorly expressed words, and chances not taken can crowd out the NOW, keeping me stuck in the past and wishing things were different.

The only way to move forward from the past is often to forgive others for their wrongdoing, and especially to forgive myself for my shortcomings. It is important to remember we are all doing the best we can with the skills we have. Not everyone had unconditional love as a child, and each person creates patterns of coping that can become hindrances as an adult.

So….since I am all about increasing joy, how about freeing up some of your emotional currency and forgiving someone in your life? Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting it to hurt the other person.

There is an ancient Hawaiian tradition called Ho-opono-pono. It is about reconciling the energy with those whom we share karma, or life history.

It involves saying four statements over and over to help clear the negativity.

“I love you, I am sorry, please forgive me, Thank you.”

I like to imagine I am praying this prayer to God, so it goes like this.

“Dear Divine Love, I am sorry for not recognizing you in ______. Please forgive me. I love you. Thank you for loving me.”

Sometimes, that also means saying, “God, I can’t love this person right now, but you can. Wrap them in healing light. Wrap me in healing light as well so I can let go and more forward.”

It is hard if you have been seriously hurt by someone who was supposed to love you. It is hard to find the grace in the darkest of situations.

Forgiving doesn’t mean forgetting. To me, it means clearing the negative energy so there is no longer a charge surrounding the thoughts of this person.

Can you move even an inch? Can you create a tiny opening in your heart for forgiveness? Holding on to the pain doesn’t serve you.

What if the person you most need to forgive is yourself? What if you are doing your best, and the critical part of you can’t see that? What if you offered love to yourself? How might that change your own heart?

Today, on this Global Day of Forgiveness, it is a great day to move an inch toward reconciliation. You deserve emotional freedom. And you are the only person that can give that gift to yourself.

Remember the Leonard Cohen quote.

“There is a crack in everything. That is how the light gets in!”


JULY 12

HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalSimplicityDay

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” – Robert Brault

Stop doing and start being!

1) Identify what you value and start living from what’s true for you.

2) Celebrate small achievements. Little things add up to big accomplishments! (Imagine sorting a closet one item at a time. Categorize in three ways: Stay, trash, donate. At the end of a month, a clean closet can be a big deal that increases your joy.)

3) Let go of things you no longer want, and allow someone else the pleasure of things that don’t bring you joy.

4) Create a shopping list before you go- and stick to the list!

5) Reach out and share a conversation with a friend. Even five minutes will bring you more joy than two hours of scrolling on social media.

6) Speaking of social media, how about simplifying and banning social media for a day? Ok, an hour? What feels right for you?

Do or stop doing things to simplify your day. Read about Henry David Thoreau or Walden.