“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”

I awoke today thinking about forgiveness.

We have all had occasions where
we have either been asked
to pardon or to seek penance.
What I find rather interesting
is how difficult we often find it
to forgive - ourselves.

In the course of living life,
we all come across stumbling blocks
that are thrown in our way.
There is little we can do about their presence,
we simply must learn how to navigate them.

I find it curious that even with
all of those things that can not be helped,
we have this way of placing their burdens
squarely upon our own shoulders
- heaping guilt and blame where
it simply does not belong.
It is much like the baggage we all carry,
though with the additional weight of guilt.

We have all done it I believe,
played the If Only I Had Done This Game.

I think, that if we find ourselves
in a situation where we are placing
blame upon ourselves, we need to first ask,
"Could I have changed anything?"
Is there realistically anything that
we could have done to modify the outcome?

We all have hopes, dreams and goals
- things that we wished we could have done;
however, if you did all that you could in the moment,
there is no guilt to be had. Not an ounce.
We can only do what we can do
- especially if those things involve the cooperation of others.

Sometimes, we must forgive ourselves,
realizing that we did all we could
and that no one blames us but ourselves.

The time for pardon has come.
The time for removing that weight of the past
and setting it aside so that you can walk a little taller.
It does not mean we forget
our promises to ourselves or to others,
it only means that we remove
the heaviness of unnecessary guilt
that lies upon our soul.

Carry only those things with you
that whisper of the past beautifully
and those that speak to the future and your goals for it.