The idea of forgiveness is a tough one for me. If I “forgive and forget”, as the saying goes, I feel like I run the risk of being hurt again and again. We all know that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. So is it insane to forgive others?
Through my study of A Course in Miracles, it has become apparent that you cannot move forward along the spiritual path of awareness without your brother and sister. You cannot abandon those that have hurt you. The answer is to stop feeling hurt. What? Deny myself the indulgence of feeling like “I done been wronged”! (Can you tell we had to listen to a few too many country music stations on our 12 hour drive between Indy and the South Carolina coast?)
If I choose to work on forgiveness in the coming year, I will learn to not feel like a victim. My perspective would be to take a new look at situations that I viewed as unjust and find a solution instead of complaining or taking offense.
Furthermore, if I give up complaining, what in the world will I talk about?!
Diane Sugar, a classmate in my coach training program shared with us the Complaint Free World: 21-Day Challenge. You are given a purple bracelet and you agree to wear the bracelet on one arm and have to move it to the other arm if you complain. One of my classmates just went ahead bought two bracelets!
I know what my son would say about this idea, “exactly how do you define complaining?” Ah, the philosophical wisdom of a 16 year old…………………………..not so easy to answer is it. My response would be that if you take 10 seconds to think about your response to a situation and there is an opportunity to forgive, then your original response was going to be considered complaining.
Tuned In Coaching is Tuned In to You! 