One of my daily rituals is a personal reflection of forgiveness and gratitude. This can be written down in a journal, said out loud, or simply thought.
FORGIVENESS
Who can you forgive today?
Forgiveness to me means to choose love. That is not to say one should condone unethical behaviour, but instead to understand that we are all human, and thus we all make mistakes. Forgiving also does not mean that you can then go back to the way it was before the trespass occurred, that to some extent is impossible, as we cannot erase the past with forgiveness. What forgiveness does is change the anger within you into serenity.
My process is as follows:
Reflect, Learn the Lesson, Ask For or Grant Forgiveness, Move Forward.
And I’ve found that internal forgiveness is not a static state. In some cases one will have to reflect within and choose forgiveness over and over again. This moves one towards inner peace.
GRATITUDE
Gratitude means being thankful for the blessings in your life. I suggest focusing on a minimum of 3 blessings.
If you are having a day when you cannot see any blessings, take a deep breath and say thank you for the breath. Look at something that is beautiful to you, say thank you for that. Think of someone you love, say thank you for that person.
In my experience a heart full of gratitude feels better (understatement) than a heart filled with anger and resentment.
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