Life is about choices. You can choose to maintain anger in your heart toward a person, place or situation, but you can also choose to release that very situation and leave behind the hurt and bitterness. You can choose to forgive. It will take practice, and I won't promise you it's easy, but here is what you'll gain from making that first choice toward forgiveness.
1. Peace
Once your mind stops racing with anger or sadness, you'll finally be able to focus on you, on the present. Stop spinning the story in your mind over and over.
2. Self-compassion
Allowing yourself to move on from a person or situation means you can finally let yourself relax. Rather than forcing yourself to be driven by anxiety or sadness, you can finally take a deep breath and move on.
3. Regain trust
Letting go of bitterness and anger from a specific situation will allow you to step back and see, perhaps, not everyone or every situation is going to end up the same way. You'll start to have better faith in the right people, having learned a lesson, even from the worst of situations. Live your relationships in the present. Don't let you, or them, suffer because of your past.
4. Lessons
Forgiveness allows us to appreciate the good, without the lens of resentment over it. Learn how courageous you can be, not only handling the situation as the greater person, but by continuing to handle it afterward. We always gain a lesson, even if it's not immediately obvious.
5. Positivity
Forgiveness polished the hurt off of my heart, and now all that’s left is gratitude. I also appreciate the preciousness of my new friendships and make a greater effort to actively nurture them. Move forward with a sense of gratitude and positivity.
Letting go of attachment to a person or place can take a lot. The process, as well as maintaining forgiveness, can take a lot of effort; just remember it would take even greater efforts to harbor resentment instead.
Choose to grow from your pain and learn to forgive because you deserve to be happy. Choose to be free.
