Forgiveness- a word we often hear yet, it’s the hardest thing to do. In fact, it takes a long time for us to forgive, especially the ones we love. But do you know who is the hardest one to forgive? Ourselves.
How many times did you give unlimited chances to that person who always broke your trust? How many times did you forgive that person who always treated you like you are nothing?
And why is it easier for you to give others a chance but not yourself? I was trying to find a concrete answer to these questions, but it all comes down to one.
The difference between giving a chance to others and giving yourself a chance is how much do we value ourselves and others. It is never easy to forgive others, but we do it anyway because we love them, and we do not want them to abandon us.
Do not get me wrong, I salute you for always choosing to be the ones who forgive others. But when was the last time you did that to yourself? When was the last time you asked yourself for forgiveness for always putting others first before you?
Forgive yourself for giving ‘you’ a hard time when you should be the first one to comfort. Forgive yourself for not trusting ‘you’ enough. Forgive yourself for thinking you were never enough. Forgive yourself for not choosing ‘you’.
To forgive is to accept. To forgive is to acknowledge that what you did is wrong, and instead of blaming yourself, you promised yourself for not doing that mistake over again. To forgive is to let go of the pain and anger. To forgive is to slowly change the way you treat and value yourself.
To forgive means to acknowledge your shortcomings, feel sad and bad about it and to try again.
No one said it will be easy. Forgiving is a process. Some days will be much harder than the others but what is important is you start again. You need compassion, understanding, and patience towards yourself.
The first step, which is acceptance, will be the hardest. But I assure you, the result will be worth it.
Forgiveness will teach you how to truly treat yourself the right way.
The phrase “to forgive is to forget” does not mean you forget what happened but to choose to forget it every time it crosses your mind. Once you forgive, you remove its power to hurt you and carry instead of the lessons you’ve learned. To forgive is to set yourself free.
The only way to grow is to forgive and to let go. No matter how many years it takes, what matters is you’re trying. No one is perfect and no one ever will be, but you always have a chance to be a better version of yourself through forgiving yourself.
If you can forgive others, you can forgive yourself too. Give yourself the love and acceptance you deserve.
About the Author:
Aira Guia is a simple, young, conservative Filipina who is determined to inspire her readers. Although she majored in Accounting, her passion for writing and her faith in God & all good things is what fuels her to create pieces that would hopefully encourage people to love & accept themselves and empower others to become their best version.
Photo by Sarah Brown on Unsplash