It can be very difficult to let go of your anger and not hold bad feelings against the person who has hurt you. Forgiving can be very helpful to your physical and mental health.
So how do you start the healing? Try following these steps:
Calm yourself.
Take a couple of breaths and think of something that gives you pleasure: a beautiful scene in nature or someone you love
Do not wait for the person to say they are sorry.
Many times the person who hurt you has no plan to say they are sorry. They may have wanted to hurt you or they just do not see things the same way. God’s book, the Bible tells us in 1 John 1:9 if we tell God what we have done wrong then he will forgive us. He will take away from us all the wrong things that we have done. To show love and not remember bad things against someone is the very thing that God does when he does not remember the wrong or bad things we do.
Forgiveness does not mean you have to agree with the person who upset you or approve of his or her action. Forgiving means we heal our memory.
Take the control away from the person who hurt you.
Thinking about your hurt over and over in your mind gives power to the person who hurt you. Instead of thinking on your hurt feelings, learn to look for other good things around you.
Try to see things from the other person’s point of view.
If you have understanding of that person, you may see that he or she was acting out of lack of facts, fear, or even love. To gain understanding, you may want to write a letter to yourself from the point of view of the person who hurt you.
Understand what can come of forgiveness.
Research has shown that people who forgive report more energy, better eating and better sleep patterns.
Do not forget to forgive yourself.
Sometimes forgiving yourself can be the hardest thing. Forgiving can help keep depression, anger and stress away. It can help you be more hopeful. Forgiving can help you be good to your body and keep your immune system healthy.
Tags: ESL News, stress
