Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Day 315 ~ "P" for the Power of Forgiveness

As I continue my A to Z Challenge I am now presented with the letter "P" and have decided to have the the letter represented by the phrase the "Power of Forgiveness."


Sure I could have chosen forgiveness for my "F" word, deserveingly so.  However if I may  add, the act of forgiveness is a brave and powerful act at that deserves [the larger text and] the foreword of power, hence the phrase "Power of Forgiveness."  


Thanks to Oprah's Lifeclass: The Tour (wow... two days in a row Oprah gets a plug on my blog. lol  wink, wink) I have been listening and learning from the likes of Tony Robbins, Iyanla Vanzant, Deepak Chopra and Bishop TD Jakes.  They all spoke about letting go of the pas, accepting it and the "Power of Forgiveness."


I have decided that I truly need to forgive myself to remove this power unforgiving has had in who I am and what I do.  I feel my chest tightening up with anxiety at the thought... BUT... I remembered what was reaffirmed to me...

  • Holding onto resentment is like holding your breath; you soon stat to suffocate.  ~Deepak Chopra
  • Forgiveness takes courage.  ~ by all
  • What people think of you is none of your business.  If you start to make it your business you will be offended for the rest of your life.  ~Deepak Chora
  • Until you heal the wounds of your past, you will continue to bleed into your future.  ~Iyanla Vanzant
  • Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could be any different.  ~Oprah quote unknown

I know first hand that Power of Forgiveness exists.  What first seemed to feel like I was just going through the motions, turned out to be the most rewarding feeling.  A sense of euphoria per say.  It was as if a tremendous amount of weight had literally been lifted off of me.  What first seemed to be a mere metaphor turned out to be such a Powerful feeling...  


So... when you catch yourself thinking there's no such thing as the Power of Forgiveness; that if you forgive you are doing the offender a favor, letting them off if you will... bottomline... 

  1. YES there is such thing as the Power of Forgiveness
  2. Forgiveness is about YOU not the offender; it's about accepting the past for what it is;
  3. Not allowing what the offender did affect the way you live now or in the future
All I know is what Deepak Chopra keep repeating (towards the end of his segment) was that  "We want to be defined by the best our my life, not the very worse."  Doesn't that say it all?  It certainly does for me.


This was a very enlightening moment.  I am grateful for all that I have survived.  I am a stronger person for it.  I am who I am because of it.  Above all...


I am going to be "brave", and TRULY begin to forgive myself.  For as much as I have said in the past that I have "forgiven" myself, honestly something new always causes feelings to resurface.   


MUST begin to take the Power of Forgiveness and forgive myself once and for all.. allowing for future feelings too.  Meaning in forgiving myself and others who may come into play, I have to truly let go of the past, accept the past for what it is and move one.  


After all one constant has always been true... the fact that I want to live a happy successful life with my family by my side! 


True forgiveness is unconditional, it has no red tape; it has no strings attached.  ~unknown 

Blogging A to Z Challenge April 2012... What will "Q" have for us tomorrow?



50 days to go...  (OMG! No way!)

... for a, l & c.  You are my sunshine(s).  


Images are courtesy of google or Bing images.  Some images maybe labeled property of Carla Barila Karam and of this blog, Taking Back My Life ~ Making It My Own.  U.S Copyright laws apply.  ©

8 comments:

ReviewsSheRote said...

There is NOTHING like the POWER OF FORGIVNESS

I love the Three points!!!!

Raine said...

forgiveness is so important and so difficult. I want to forgive my ex husband but it is so hard.

Andrea Boring said...

Beautiful, my friend! I particularly like and agree with the statement that forgiveness is about you and not about the offender. I have found this to be so accurate in my life. With forgiveness, you are the one with the peace.
xoxo

Kath said...

I love your feelings about the Power of Forgiveness. It is something we all have to learn and embrace no matter how difficult. I love your mention that it has to do with you as a person. take care.

Karen Dawkins said...

The power of forgiveness enters into our hearts because we choose to act as Jesus did. He hung on a cross, taking the punishment for our sins... a punishment he did not deserve. When we forgive, whether the other deserves it or not, we act like Jesus. Humbly. Loving. Generous. And in that moment, God can move...

... and peace fills our heart through the power of his spirit.

Forgiveness is a miracle!

Misadventures in Motherhood said...

Lovely, lovely post! I'm so happy you're on this healing path. I find that personally it's much harder to forgive myself than it is to forgive others. Of course, that makes no sense whatsoever, and someone once called me on it. She said, "So, basically you think you're better than everyone else and should therefore be held to a higher standard?" That really made me think. Of COURSE I don't think I'm better than anyone else...so why would I not allow myself the forgiveness I allow others?

This was truly eye-opening for me...and every time I start getting down on myself for something, I ask myself, "If one of my friends had done the exact same thing, would I be upset? Would I forgive her?"

It helps me to bring into perspective how others might be feeling about whatever mistake I made, and it helps me realize that it's not the end of the world, and that people still love me anyway.

Learning how to forgive ourselves is a key step in being truly free. I'm so happy for you to be undergoing this worthy journey!

Smiles, Jenn @Misadventures in Motherhood

Susan said...

Forgiveness is one of the hardest and best things in the world. Both of yourself and others. No question.
Nice post Carla!

Lisa Mason said...

Wonderful post and at a fantastic time. I've been working to help promote Project Forgive and your post is spot on with the message of that project, too. Words we all need to remember and live by, although it is tough sometimes.