A young woman sat down with me for lunch and we had a very
long chat. I didn’t know her as well as
I should have, but after our chat, I knew everything that I needed to
know. She always smiled, laughed and I
couldn’t figure out how she could be so happy in life when she had every reason
to be miserable. Her life was filled
with one horrible experience after the other. On all accounts, most people would think her
life tragic. I wanted to cry for her,
and did as she told me the true stories that I don’t think I could have lived
through myself. When I asked her how she
could be so happy and optimistic after living through one tragedy after the
other, she told me that it simply wasn’t worth the hurt and the energy to hold on to bad
memories.
At a very young age, this
young woman learned to forgive. She told
me that she doesn’t wait, stew, brood, and be miserable about the constant barrage
and continuous flow of bad events that never seem find her at every turn,
because she is determined to be happy in spite of them. She believes that these events won’t ever cease,
explaining about the little grey cloud that follows her wherever she goes. She laughs and says she was born with it and
like her shadow, will never stop following her.
She found that by forgiving
others of their offenses, is the umbrella
(metaphorically speaking) that prevents the rain from keeping her soggy
wet. She knows it’s just a matter of time before she’ll get dumped on again, but
understands that nobody is immune and it is just a matter of how we determine
we will meet the challenges of life. Forgiving
others is what keeps her happy.
After this conversation, I took a very long look at myself
and realized that I had been holding on to things way too long. I realized that holding on to the bad
memories and experiences in my own life, and never letting go was like a second
nature to me, you know, kind of like a mole on your neck that you didn’t ever dare
to have removed. That evening, I took a
long look into my 3 x zoom mirror and noticed how that mole had grown over the
years. It used to be so small that I
just ignored it, but over the years it had grown into what looked more like a melanoma,
a humongous protuberance that had to be removed. I knew I needed to set an appointment with
the Dermatologist to take care of it once and for all.
What a refreshing feeling it is to get rid of old baggage, and to be able to smile without regrets; and I had to learn it from someone half my age. I wonder for you who are reading this story, just how long you have held on to your excess baggage and how much longer will it take for you to be able to forgive, move on and be happy? Lighten your load, forgive others, and be happy once more.
Please enjoy this little clipable printable to clip and post wherever you need to see it to remind yourself of your new attitude of forgiveness.
