Forgive yourself.

Forgive.

Let go.

Forgive. Why is this word so daunting?! I’ll be the first to admit that it’s easy for me to forget and move on, but not to forgive, no way—impossible. I can’t . . . I won’t . . . I refuse.

We cannot change the past, but we can change the future and a part of that future is forgiving yourself for the part you are playing in your life’s journey. It took me a long time, a really long time, to come to terms with this. That you (we) cannot continue to blame others, fault them and hold grudges over their words or actions without being accountable for our own. If you (we) continue to let someone hurt us over and over again, at what point does it become your (our) fault?! We can’t change their treatment of us, but we can change how we treat ourselves. If you (we) decide enough is enough, then enough will be enough and that person can no longer hurt you (us) any longer.

Therefore, as we enter 2018 and begin to enact our resolutions, I’m going to keep mine simple and vow to learn the art of forgiveness. While I’m not ready to bestow my newfound forgiveness energy upon others who have done me dirty, I am ready to forgive myself.

Good-bye to all the grudges I’ve held on to for far too long in relation to myself.

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Hello to a new me who is able to accept the past and push forward without looking back.

Dear Self,

You must first learn to truly forgive yourself for the pain and mental and emotional abuse you’ve bestowed on yourself before you can attempt to forgive others.

I forgive you for wanting more than was expected of you. Slow down and live in the moment. You only get one life, don’t miss out on what it has to offer.

I forgive you for being overly critical and borderline perfectionist when trying your best was good enough.

I forgive you for not loving yourself the way you should be loved.

I forgive you for letting people fill your energy who were not worthy of being in your presence.

I forgive you for dismissing people from your life who were true and kind, but you were too blind to notice.

I forgive you for not accepting the plan God has in store for you and trying to create your own.

I forgive you for taking this long to finally see the person you were born to be.

I forgive you for ignoring your passions and focusing more on distractions.

I forgive you for not saying how proud I am for all that you accomplished thus far.

I forgive you for self-sabotaging the positive things in your life.

I forgive you for being too strong at times and not allowing weakness to be exposed where you could see the helping hands around you.

I forgive you for living life for others instead of yourself.

I forgive you for taking too long to walk away from situations because of comfort-ability even though emotional damage was present.

I forgive you for staying busy and not addressing emotions or situations head on in real time.

I forgive you for not taking care of your anxiety because it was a sign of weakness.

I forgive you for not putting yourself first when you couldn’t deal with the issue.

I forgive you for not listening to your mind, body, and heart.

Self—I promise to love you, listen to you, say nice things to and about you, to be careful with your heart, to never hurt you, to never disregard you, and to continue to fight for you every day.

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