“The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.”

Steve Maraboli

Quite recently, I reached a point in my life where I feel I have grudges that I cannot seem to let go of. Maybe it's because I was hurt badly, maybe it's because a person truly impacted me a negative way. Regardless of the situation, I never can get rid of the feeling of hurt and resentment. I hold my pride close to me. I take pride in who I am and when someone emotionally wounds me, I try my best not to let it get to me. But after years and years it starts to really build up.

So I've chosen a difficult path. They say easiest way to move on from hurt is to forgive those who made mistakes. To be the bigger person. To let down pride and disregard what once occurred. But for people like me, forgiveness is one of the most difficult things I've tried to do.

I've chosen forgiveness to move on.

I constantly sit and think about the relationships that I have with friends or significant others that ended on a bad note. I felt so much pain and anger. Bottling up feelings is very unhealthy and resenting others is emotionally draining. Holding onto constant reminders of hurt brings us more pain--unnecessary and time consuming pain. Yes, it's hard to forgive people because all we can feel when we hear their names or think of them is anger, pain, disappointment, or loss. We're human beings. Even if you say you don't feel anything, you do. You just hide it better than others. We will never move on from anything without letting go, picking up the anchor that brings us down, and sailing onto bigger and better things.

I've chosen forgiveness to love myself more.

As humans, we often forget at the end of the day the most important person to love is yourself. The more pain we experience the more we feel less of ourselves. We feel less important because someone didn't want us in their life or we weren't good enough. Holding onto negativity never frees us of our past. I want to love myself more so that one day I can love someone just as much as I love myself. I want to put myself first for once and look out for what is best for me.

I've chosen forgiveness to find peace.

I've felt constant emotional baggage. I'm ready to let go little by little but to still hold onto the good that came from the past. What made me laugh and what really made me feel alive is just as important as what hurt me, or more. I'm not saying we should forgive everyone because not everyone deserves it, but we deserve to feel happy. We must forgive for ourselves, not for others.

I've chosen forgiveness because I'm stronger than those who have hurt me.

The act of forgiveness displays emotional strength. We are weak when we hold onto to much negativity. Forgiving is a form of love. One of the hardest form. But before we forgive others, we must forgive ourselves.

I hope you find forgiveness. I hope you allow yourself to find peace and love who you are. You deserve it. You deserve unconditional love. Set yourself free from what has been holding you down and allow yourself to move forward.