Forgiveness Brings Joy

Seems like the ability or need to forgive has been a topic of conversation for me lately...

Today I received the Inner Journey Newsletter with these quotes:

"The greatest evil that can befall man is
that he should come to think ill of himself."
- Johann Wolfgang Van Goethe

"If we don't forgive ourselves for our mistakes,
and others for the wounds they have inflicted on upon us,
we end up crippled with guilt. And the soul cannot
grow under a blanket of guilt, because guilt is
isolating, while growth is a gradual process of
reconnection to ourselves, to other people,
and to a larger whole."
- Joan Borysenko

The first step to activating our inner joy is to eliminate the blocks to it. We can start by truly forgiving ourselves and all others. Forgiveness calls for a shift in our perception. It is easier to forgive ourselves and others when we really understand that each of us has always done the very best we knew to do at the time.

Ah, now there's a thought to ponder and consider - that we did the very best that we knew at the time...Most of us carry hurts for much longer than we need to. It is perhaps, one of the hardest lessons to learn, and yet, one of the most important ones as well...

"Seek to do brave and lovely things
that are left undone by the majority of people.
Give gifts of love and peace
to those whom others pass by."
- Paramahansa Yogananda