Learning how to let go, forgive, and heal.

Forgiveness is a profound act of emotional healing and personal growth. It allows us to release resentment and bitterness, freeing ourselves from the emotional burdens that weigh us down. While forgiveness can lead to a newfound sense of peace, it's undoubtedly a challenging task for many.

First and foremost, it's crucial to understand that forgiveness does not mean condoning the actions of those who have hurt us. Instead, it involves releasing the emotional pain and anger associated with the experience. Forgiveness is often an internal process, centered around letting go and moving forward.

Forgiveness is a powerful tool for emotional healing and personal growth. It allows you to let go of resentment and bitterness, freeing yourself from the emotional burden that can weigh you down. Although forgiveness can open yourself up to a new sense of peace, it can be a really difficult task for obvious reasons. 

We fully acknowledge how difficult this process is, so we wanted to give you a few ways to begin your forgiveness journey.

So, how do you start the process of forgiveness? Here are a few steps to get you started:

1. Acknowledge your feelings.
   
   It is important to understand that the weight of the anger, resentment, and hurt that are associated with the situation is not yours to carry forever.
   
   Acknowledging your feelings, validating why you feel the way you do, and learning to accept those emotions is so important to move through it versus suppressing it!
   
   
2. Practice empathy & self compassion.
   
   Forgiveness requires an immense amount of empathy and self compassion. We highly encourage you to take the time to be kind and understanding towards yourself as you work through the process.
   
   
3. Learning how to become neutral and see the situation from multiple perspectives.
   
   This may be incredibly triggering, depending on what you are needing to let go. Please keep in mind these are just suggestions for general forgiveness and we have no way of knowing what you have gone through.
   
   There is a book by Byron Katie called “Loving What Is”. This book was so triggering, yet so healing learning how to become neutral in virtually any circumstance to see things from a new perspective.
   
   Why is this helpful? I have found that this can help to reduce feelings of anger and resentment, and promote understanding and empathy.
   
   
4. Write a letter.
   
   Writing a letter of frustration, your perspective, why you are angry, and the ultimate forgiveness can be a powerful tool in the process of letting go.
   
   There is no right or wrong way to write this letter, and we highly encourage you to either rip up the letter, safely burn the letter, or discard it. These letters should not be kept to be reread as we are learning to release and let go.
   
   We also encourage you NEVER send them to the person.
   
   
5. Seek support, therapy, and community.
   
   Forgiveness can be a difficult process, and it is important to have support along the way. You may notice that there is grief in this season with you! Please reach out to us if you are needing support and we can point you towards individuals we trust in the therapy space!

In a nutshell, forgiveness is the art of learning how to release the emotional pain and anger that is associated with your experiences. It is never an easy task and takes time!