Forgiveness

“You must give up pain, anger, resentment and fear in order to experience goodness, joy, peace and love. . . Offering another the forgiveness they need strengthens the spiritual nature in you. . . When you withhold forgiveness or love from anyone, for any reason, it diminishes your awareness of the abundance of good in life. You are stuck in so much old stuff, new stuff has no way of getting to you. In essence, the good that you withhold from others will be withheld from you.

“Sometimes, we make the mistake of thinking that other people have the power to control or alter our destiny. It is our beliefs, mistaken or otherwise, that ultimately determine what we will do or be in life, not another person. . . We believe our experiences make us who we are in life, and then we blame the players in our experiences. The biggest mistake we all make is believing that other people can hurt us. . . Forgive yourself for believing that anyone who occupies the flesh form as a human being could in any way alter the truth of your being.”

from One Day My Soul Just Opened Up by Iyanla Vanzant