― Joan Baez
Forgiveness
can be hard and frequently complicated.
And some types of forgiveness are more difficult than others.
Forgiving
people who have hurt me is something I have learned to do. Sometimes, it is hard, but letting go of that
negative emotion is freeing. I find it
harder to forgive people -- particularly adults -- who have done something to
my children. And the "done something"
is not anything truly awful -- it's more about adults who have not been kind,
teachers who did not handle a situation the way I would have hoped... those
kinds of things. I wish it were easier,
but any perceived offense against my children is difficult to forgive.
However, the
hardest person for me to forgive is myself.
Recently, I said something that I shouldn't have to someone. I was functioning on very little sleep, and
exhausted both physically and emotionally.
It surprised me and probably the other person as I try mightily not to
say things I will regret. But I did. And I apologized -- twice.
As I thought
about it, I asked myself what I would say to one of my good friends if she were
in a similar situation. I had no trouble
with the answer. I would tell her to
apologize, and then to be kind to herself and move on. Being kind to ourselves is not always easy. And forgiving ourselves may be the ultimate
in kindness.
No comments:
Post a Comment