Day 82: Healing Begins with Letting Go and Learning to Forgive Yourself

This morning when I woke up, I was thinking about some of the YouTube comments I’ve replied to over the last couple of days.

The pain these women are dealing with after their life quakes is something I can’t take away from them.

Knowing they are suffering stays with me.

I do videos for the same reason I write these emails and create programs.

To help you see things differently.

To give you an opening to shift perspective and allow a possible way to move forward in your life.

That led me to look through my list of quotes I’ve been compiling for years.

I found the first one, and then two more that felt just as important.

All healing is release from the past.
All healing is essentially the release from fear.
To love yourself is to heal yourself.

All are true.

Healing comes from releasing the past, because what needs to be healed occurred in the past.

The trauma will continue to replay in your mind, and your life can stay tied to that place, until you begin to let the pain soften and release.

You don’t leave the good memories.
Just the pain.

Healing is a release from fear because somewhere in the experience, you connected it to a fear you may or may not be consciously aware of.

That fear is what keeps you from moving forward.

Only you have that answer.

A good question to ask is:

“What am I afraid will happen if I begin to live my life again and be happy?”

Thoughts, feelings, or images will come to you.

They may be logical.
They may not make sense at all.

Just keep asking.

The real answer will begin to reveal itself.

You can also ask yourself why you feel this way.

To love yourself is to heal yourself, because love is always the answer.

And the first person you have to love is yourself.

When you can truly say you love yourself, you will already be moving forward.

Forgiveness is the second part of this.

Every trauma is different and deeply personal, but there are underlying emotions and beliefs that can keep you stuck.

There is often someone, or something, that needs to be forgiven.

And somewhere inside, there is often a place where we still need to forgive ourselves.

You are not forgiving the actions.

When you forgive, it benefits you more than anyone else.

Forgiveness allows you to live again.

And sometimes, even when there is no logical reason, we carry something inside that asks for self-forgiveness.

It may be tied to something before the event, or after it.

Whether it’s real or not doesn’t matter.

If you believe it, it’s something you can gently release.

So please, forgive yourself.

And most of all, remember this:

Moving forward does not mean you forget.

It does not mean you disrespect anyone.

There is no situation where someone you love would want you to stay stuck in pain.

They would want you to live.

To feel.

To be happy again.

Today’s Gentle Practice

Take a quiet moment today and bring to mind something you may still be holding onto.

Just notice it.

Without judgment.

Gently ask yourself:

Is there a place here where I can offer myself forgiveness?

You don’t have to force it.

Just be open to the possibility.

Sometimes even a small willingness is enough to begin softening what you’ve been carrying.

If something comes up for you, you’re always welcome to reply and share.

With you,
Lynn