Benefits of Forgiveness–A Self-Care Journey
Sometimes in life when you are feeling safe and comfortable in your path, you are suddenly derailed by someone that erupts from your past without notice. Without warning, something you had laid to rest is suddenly brought back from the grave and it’s crueler than before. Here’s where you have a choice to hold onto these feelings or forgive. There are many benefits of forgiveness on your self-care journey, and this blog will share some of the benefits, as well as the role forgiveness, has played in my life, specifically through my cancer journey. 🙏🏽💗
My Experience with Forgiveness
The person that brought these feelings back to life is likely still stuck in the past and somehow thinks it will give them relief to make you the cause of their problem. Remember: it is NOT your problem, nor are YOU the problem. The solution to their fixation lies within themselves, but they want to blame someone else or possibly make them hurt even more than they do.💔 While trying to center yourself, remember how long it has taken you to get to the place you are today. It’s all about progress, not perfection. Even in moments where something has affected you so deeply, understanding that each person is on their own path to find themselves can help greatly. Let go of all that no longer serves you. The hurt, the energy that came with the hurt, and all negative feelings. As hard as it may be, let that 💩 go! Forgive, release, move on, and most importantly love. ❤️
Pain from past unforgiven situations often feels like it is weighing us down, and forgiveness can release us from this weight. When I received my breast cancer diagnosis, I wanted to relieve all that was weighing me down. I took inventory of all the feelings I buried, but carried inside of me and made a list. My future was uncertain, and suddenly I wanted to live a life of freedom, cancer-free with nothing holding me back. I naturally progressed towards forgiveness because I was ready to let go of the negative energy holding me back. I addressed each situation to clear it out of my system. It wasn’t easy, but I did it, and it lifted a weight off my shoulders. I no longer felt negative feelings towards these situations because I took the time to forgive. My cancer battle had only just begun, but I was already one step closer to my holistic recovery. 💪🏽🙏🏽🌟
Benefits of Forgiveness
The benefits of forgiveness are much more robust than you may have originally thought. According to the Mayo Clinic Forgiveness can:
- Make your relationships healthier
- Improve mental health
- Reduce anxiety, stress, and hostility
- Lower blood pressure
- Decrease symptoms of depression
- Fortify immune health
- Strengthen heart health
- Boost self-esteem
So, even though I didn’t realize it at the time, I was putting in some hard work to not only heal my mind but my body too. This worked wonders for me, especially in the area of reducing my anxiety and stress levels. A lot of my mental burdens went away after making my list and following through on forgiving. 🙌🏽
What Does it Really Mean to Forgive?
Forgiveness makes its presence known often when we are in the process of healing. Often, we hear people say “forgive and forget,” implying that to forgive someone is to forget about the pain, hurt, or wrongdoing that happened. I disagree, you can still remember the experience and forgive. You know that you have fully forgiven someone when you are brought back to that moment in time, and you feel nothing from it. You feel no hurt, resentment, nothing. Eventually, forgiveness turns into love. You hold love for the person that hurt you or for yourself. 😍
The benefits of forgiveness are endless, especially when you’re on a self-care journey. Forgiveness is a part of the process of loving yourself more and caring for yourself on a deeper level. Try making a list of what you need to forgive, and start forgiving! Tell me what forgiveness means to you in the comments below–I’d love to hear from you about your experience. 🥰
XOXO ,
Karla Perez
Coach Sweaty Girl KP
Wholistic Resilience Expert
