Forgiveness- Not Easy to Practice but so Liberating when You Do..
I was at a social meet-up a few days back where the topic of discussion was forgiveness. I knew of the theme on my way to the venue and was thinking of something. During the meetup, I elaborated on those thoughts and wrote a poem of sorts as I always have my journal on me. I couldn't complete it then so I'll complete it right now while writing this post.
To forgive or not to forgive, that is the question...
So I went with the second option and chose not to forgive...
I felt ecstatic at first...
I had no obligation to even think nicely for that person and could hate him...
I could now take the revenge I wanted to by just hating him...
I held on to that feeling and it grew stronger...
A few days passed and I noticed I wasn't smiling as much...
I took a peek inside my heart and was baffled to see what I saw...
I saw agony increasing with each passing moment...
I saw frustration that kept building up with time...
I saw fury escalating as the clock ticked...
I was hoping to see peace and happiness and liberation, but saw something else...
That feeling hit me hard...
It showed me what not forgiving was doing to me...
So then I decided to take the other route...
I chose to forgive..
Forgiveness wasn't easy, it never is easy because it isn't meant to be easy...
I tossed and turned for the few first days..
I felt angry too, at myself mostly for how I could allow that person to get away without avenging him...
But then I realized, I was letting myself free..
Forgiving him meant I didn't keep boiling myself...
So I searched for the key of the big lock that I had put on my heart so it couldn't love...
I found the key finally after a hard struggle..
A single attempt at opening the lock wasn't enough..
Rust had built over it because it hadn't been oiled in a long while...
But I kept trying...
One day, the lock did finally open but it then took a little while for it to go loose and free my heart...
And then that too happened...
And on that day, my heart danced..
It flew around and smiled and giggled..
It felt free and happy...
Happiness- yes I could feel that too because now my heart was free..
Free of hate and anguish, pain and negativity, frustration and fury...
I let go of it slowly but I did let it all go...
And that brought me peace...
The poem isn't well-polished, but I like it because that is how I felt when I chose to forgive my father for not being the father I wanted him to and for not being the husband my mother wished for him to be...
What does forgiveness mean to you? How do you feel about forgiving people? Did this poem make you think of the time you had to forgive someone? Looking forward to some interesting answers. And my Steemit family, I have missed you all but now I'll try to be more present here because this is my home..
Love and light,
Sharoon.
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I am a part of the wonderful @ecotrain that aims to make this world a better place so do join it if that's your aim too..
Join us @steemitbloggers Animation By @zord189
this is beautiful and heartfelt and shows me your strength. It is not easy to always forgive, it took me a long time to forgive my father, I first had to accept that that was who he was and I could not change that. That in itself was difficult. But as you have written in your beautiful poem it does make us lighter and we do become more free. The heavy burden of disappointment weights so heavily on us. I have missed you my friend, I am really happy that you are back xxx
Awww Aishlinnn, of all the people on Steemit, you and Sasha and @solarsupermama are 3 ladies I wanna hug real hard like really hard hard. I am in a vulnerable state right now and I could really use your support. Missed you so much myself!!!!!
A great poem making a very good lesson many could do well learning
Thank you so much Jay. Your words always make my day. Wow, this time I did make a rhyme haha :)
Its always my pleasure to visit ;)
@sharoonyasir forgive and not to forgive is very hard to decide....forgiveness comes from the heart and it is not easy for everyone to easily forgive some mis deed....a big hearted person is only able to forgive eqsily...
Yeah I agree forgiveness doesn't come easy. You just need to open your heart for forgiveness because often when you don't forgive someone, you are mostly hurting yourself. Thank you for the input :)
beautiful sharoon.. thank you <3 this made me think of something that's going on in my life right now and how those heavy unforgiveness energies really rest in us and not the other person... much love
Love you two! Yes, I can currently relate to this feeling too. I am happy you liked it. Thanks a lot!
Great poem, I could really feel your pain and anger in it. Forgiveness is letting go of something, if you hold on to it and shouldn't it will eat you up. Hate isn't good for anyone. But remember, forgiving is not forgetting. Learn from it.
Yeah I was angry then even now I tend to be a little angry at times, but I am fine now. It is all good. Thank you for liking it. :)
This is such a great piece you are putting together @sharoonyasir. To chose not to forgive is to chose to deny yourself freedom and to chose to forgive is to chose to have freedom and respect! Peace!
Yes that is what forgiveness is for me. Lovely words man! Thank you for stopping by :)
A very nice poem with a great message you have written here. Sorry that it was inspired by your father, makes me sad for you and your mother.
Thank you so much. Yeah it made me sad too but you know life is not always how you want it to be so it is okay. :)
So true Shary, so true,
I've been thinking a lot about forgiveness lately. It's never easy, but you're right, it is freeing. For me, self-forgiveness is the hardest thing, and I have to keep working on it, again and again, as if I'm chipping away at the harsh thoughts I sent myself for too many years. Past mistakes still come to mind, though I cannot do anything about them other than live differently now. So I forgive myself, again. And again. And again. And set myself free... even if it is a little bit at a time. 💖
Yeah I am doing that a lotttt nowadays too. This is how I keep myself from having too many regrets. Love your input.
Amazing post! I love it. Hey UPVOTE my post: https://steemit.com/life/@cryptopaparazzi/chapter-one-let-there-be-the-man-and-there-was-a-man-let-there-be-a-woman-and-there-was-sex and FOLLOW ME and I ll do the same :)