If you are going to stay sane in this crazy old world and especially if you are going to continue dating then you need to learn to let go every now and then.
Although anger at times is an effective tool in dealing with difficult situations, if used too often, it loses impact. For if you are always angry, no one can tell the difference between when it is “real” and when it is just a “knee jerk” reaction. So they will tend not to take you seriously if you are always angry… compounding your frustration.
The first step in the journey toward forgiveness is the realization that anger is most often born out of ignorance.
Here is a list of ways you can be ignorant about your own anger.
· You are unaware of all the facts or are misinformed.
· You have false judgments or unrealistic expectations about the situation.
· You are really angry with yourself but are taking it out on someone else.
· The anger relates to unresolved past pain and not to what “caused” it now.
· The anger is 100% justified based upon what others
· The final step in the journey towards forgiveness is to routinely practice “better responses to anger”
Forgiveness is a form of realism. It doesn’t deny, minimize, or justify what others have done to us or the pain that we have suffered. It encourages us to look squarely at those old wounds and see them for what they are. And it allows us to see how much energy we have wasted and how much we have damaged ourselves by not forgiving.
Forgiveness is an internal process. It can’t be forced, and it doesn’t come easy. It brings with it great feelings of wellness and freedom.
Forgiveness is a sign of positive self-esteem. We no longer identify ourselves by our past injuries and injustices. We are no longer victims. We claim the right to stop hurting when we say, “I’m tired of the pain, and I want to be healed.” At that moment, forgiveness becomes a possibility-although it may take time and much hard work before we finally achieve it.
Forgiveness is letting go of the past. It doesn’t erase what happened, but it does allow us to lessen and perhaps even eliminate the pain of the past. The pain from our past no longer dictates how we live in the present, and it no longer determines our future.
It also means that we no longer need resentment and anger as an excuse for our shortcomings. We don’t need them as a weapon to punish others nor as a shield to protect ourselves by keeping others away. And most importantly, we don’t need these feelings to identify who we are. We become more than merely victims of our past.
Forgiveness is no longer wanting to punish those who hurt us. It is understanding that the anger and hatred that we feel toward them hurts us far more than it hurts them. It is discovering the inner peace that becomes ours when we let go of the past and forget vengeance.