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Daily Question, October 20

What parts of my past can I forgive to live more fully today?

  • Katelyn K.

    I've been holding on to damaging pieces of my past for so long now and it's exhausting. I know that to move forward, I need to let these pieces go and try to live in the present moment, rather than looking for inadequacies in myself and my upbringing. I came to realization that I should not be attached the problems I faced as a young girl, but realize that they are her problems. I will divorce myself of this negativity and move forward with my life with clarity. I only hope and pray that she can...

    I’ve been holding on to damaging pieces of my past for so long now and it’s exhausting. I know that to move forward, I need to let these pieces go and try to live in the present moment, rather than looking for inadequacies in myself and my upbringing. I came to realization that I should not be attached the problems I faced as a young girl, but realize that they are her problems. I will divorce myself of this negativity and move forward with my life with clarity. I only hope and pray that she can do the same, and learn to divorce the problems that have plagued her all her life.

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  • Christina

    This is a toughie for me. There is an unhealed part of my past that still brings me pain. A friend gave me a beautiful cleansing prayer that is helping in this regard, but the memory (damn!) still hurts!

  • kathleen

    I think I am influenced by a past and trauma in my past that makes me hyper vigilant at times and on guard sometimes and really not half aware of the potential that I really am. My true nature is disguised to me as I live out old patterns and fear based beliefs without always knowing that I do. Its like these served as coping skills growing up trying to survive and to live more fully I gotta open to a bigger possibility.

  • Pilgrim

    Well, gosh, I did the best I could with what I knew at the time, and in the circumstances that presented.

  • Stephen

    I’m fine with the past, except all the time I’ve wasted worrying about the future.

  • Patjos

    If asked this question a number of years ago I’d have had a long long list, however Love (in the human form of my wife, my friends and relations) brought me Grace and the Light to see that I was already forgiven, and if already forgiven by Love then there was nothing of me to forgive.

  • Trevor

    The parts filled with selfish indulgences. The parts of unrestrained immoral thoughts and behaviors caused by addiction. After years of struggling with addiction I can see that there is no such thing. People fall into addictions because a part of them enjoys the addictive activity. So I can forgive myself by changing that part of me through austere spiritual practice.

  • Palm

    I tend to be particularly hard on myself about the choices that the younger me made. As Francine said, I also still need to work on this and forfgive the decisions I made based on the knowledge and experience I had at the time

  • Amor fati

    Gratitude is about the present moment. The past is gone.

  • Deb

    I do not want to think of my past, searching for what went wrong and how it affected or affects me now. I want to live today fully engaged in the eternal now.

  • Francine Marie Tolf

    I love this question. I think most of us never really forgive deep parts of ourself that are buried in our psyches. I’ve worked hard to do this, but not hard enough. There is still a part of me that thinks I am bad, damaged, not right. I would never call a friend those things. I think of Gloria Steinem urging women to think of the girls they were, in all their imperfections, and be TENDER to their memories. Love that girl, forgive her. Gloria is such a wise woman with such a generous…...

    I love this question. I think most of us never really forgive deep parts of ourself that are buried in our psyches. I’ve worked hard to do this, but not hard enough. There is still a part of me that thinks I am bad, damaged, not right. I would never call a friend those things. I think of Gloria Steinem urging women to think of the girls they were, in all their imperfections, and be TENDER to their memories. Love that girl, forgive her. Gloria is such a wise woman with such a generous…I love this question. I think most of us never really forgive deep parts of ourself that are buried in our psyches. I have worked hard to do this, but not hard enough. There is still a part of me that thinks I am bad, damaged, not right. I would never call a friend those things. I think of Gloria Steinem urging women to think of the girls they were, in all their imperfections, and be TENDER to their memories. Love that girl, forgive her. Gloria is such a wise woman with such a generous heart.

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    • Palm

      I agree with you Francine, thanks for your reflection

  • Kit

    accept what is, let go of what was. have faith in what will be. God knows what will be. God knows what he is doing.

  • Ed Schulte

    What parts of my past can I forgive to live more fully today?

    Where there is True Love there is no need to forgive. So therefore all “past” is just fine as it is…viewed from the now called “today”.

    • Patjos

      Yes indeed. Choices were made back ‘then’ in the Light we had then, perhaps we can make different choices today if need be, and in today’s Light create a past for tomorrow that serves us well?

      • Ed Schulte

        Patjos the key choice is to not fall for egoisms trick of trying to blame it host ( your True Self) for the so-called mistakes IT as made. Egoism is both cleaver and double in nature ....when one starts to observe it and stay separate from it games, one half pretends to be remorseful but the other half will come in with new tricks, new self punishment. I said "True Love" because when one is established in one's True Self ( not influenced by Egoism) One is also emanating True Love and ego cannot ...

        Patjos the key choice is to not fall for egoisms trick of trying to blame it host ( your True Self) for the so-called mistakes IT as made. Egoism is both cleaver and double in nature ….when one starts to observe it and stay separate from it games, one half pretends to be remorseful but the other half will come in with new tricks, new self punishment. I said “True Love” because when one is established in one’s True Self ( not influenced by Egoism) One is also emanating True Love and ego cannot survive in its “light”.

        Read More
  • Kevin

    To be honest, I don’t spend time living in the past. I am living for today, and hopeful for tomorrow. Are there things in my past and about my past that I regret? Of course. But I have not invited them to be a part of my plans for today.

    • Patjos

      For what it’s worth, I so agree. Sometimes when my past brings something before me I will deal with it in whatever way I can at that time, perhaps talk it out, perhaps regret, maybe if I am in the right frame of mind, bring it out into the Light of Love and let it go. But let’s not go there deliberately! :)))

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