What images does forgiveness evoke in you? I think of a fawn, a waterfall and a soothing balm?
I was walking through a wooded area, clearing my head, when I stumbled upon a newborn fawn. So gentle and vulnerable, yet powerful enough to take my breath away and make me momentarily forget every thought and worry.
Revisiting that memory softens my heart and I experience awe and wonder, all over again. Forgiveness feels like that to me.
Gentleness, humility, grace, strength, purity and agility are powerful attributes. Inviting Deer to be our spirit guide and nurturing such traits in ourselves, helps us when we need to give or receive forgiveness.
Have you ever stood under a waterfall on a hot day? Every muscle is revitalized. Forgiveness can feel like that, too. The moment that you, or the other, pulls up courage and says, “I am sorry; I hurt you,” or “Forgive me; I was wrong,” something inside of you wakes up. Forgiveness is an offering seldom matched.
Instantaneously, belief in humanity is restored. One small act between two, and hope ripples out to a world beyond.
Forgiveness is a calming gift. Like a balm, it provides some immediate relief and begins the process of healing our wounds.
Pause to experience feelings of defensiveness or the need to prove you are right. Contrast that to the way your senses respond to a newborn fawn, standing under a waterfall on a hot day or the relief that a soothing balm brings.
When we honor other people, by humbling ourselves, we offer kind-heartedness that eases their resistance and invites them to wholeness. And if our motive for asking forgiveness is to meet people where they are and not simply to ease our own discomfort, we begin rebuilding trust.
Living from the Sacred within makes us sensitive to the need to forgive, even if we know it will never be reciprocated. Once we realize the ill-effects of either allowing other people to have power over us, or holding another person hostage, we understand the benefits of forgiveness.
Making Spirit Flesh*
Try to remember when you were at your very best. What traits have died? What truth have you buried? What needs to be resurrected or reborn in you?