Forgive and Move On

Why Is It Important to Forgive and Move On?

Hurt and heartbreak are as much a part of life as love and joy are. Life introduces us to several people; some of them make our lives far more beautiful, while others knowingly or unknowingly break our hearts and leave us hurting. With time the hurt may diminish, but the resentment often stays.

The Futility of Holding on to Resentment

Most of us hold on to resentment and anger because in some twisted way these emotions make us feel that we are punishing the person who hurt us. We may move on, but we find it hard to forgive because forgiveness seems like a weakness. For some odd reason most of us manage to convince ourselves that if we forgive someone it means we are condoning their actions.

More often than not we don’t even speak to the person we hold a grudge against. We may see not forgiving someone as a way of punishing them, but the fact is that generally the person concerned either does not even know he/she is being punished or couldn’t care less either way. So, the only person who suffers is the one holding the grudge.

It’s a known fact that resentment and anger can make us bitter and unhappy. These are not great feelings to hold on to, as they do nothing to bring joy to our life. In fact, prolonged anger or bitterness prevents us from attracting happiness and more fulfilling relationships to our lives. Repressed anger leads to the development of negative feelings like extreme cynicism, loneliness, etc., in people, and no one really likes being around such depressive individuals.

Apart from the psychological side effects, holding on to past resentment can harm our physical health as well. Several research studies have proved that prolonged anger and resentment can lead to serious health complications like high blood pressure and heart diseases.

Why Should We Forgive and Forget?

It’s important to understand that forgiveness is nothing but an act of self love and detachment. Forgiveness does not mean that you need to build bridges with someone who knowingly broke your heart or left you with deep emotional scars; it does not mean believing that you deserved being hurt.

Forgiveness simply means letting go of anger and resentment against people who have hurt you, and it means cutting your karmic cord with them so that they do not affect you in any way. Forgiveness means ridding yourself of the baggage of the past. Forgiving someone is like telling them, “You hurt me because you did not know any better, but I forgive you and release all my repressed anger and resentment because you no longer hold any importance in my life.” By forgiving someone you are only doing yourself a favor.

Until next time, embrace your inner wisdom.

Namaste,
Karen