MARIANA's SITE

Permission To Forgive Ourselves
Releasing Guilt

Learning to accept the things that we perceive as wrong can be a
difficult task for many of us. Often we have been brought up to accept that
it is normal to feel guilty about our actions and that by doing so we
will make everything seem alright within ourselves. Even though we might
feel that we have a reason to make up for the choices we have made, it
is much more important for us to learn how to deal with them in a
healthy and positive way, such as through forgiveness and understanding.

When we can look back at our past and really assess what has happened,
we begin to realize that there are many dimensions to our actions.
While feeling guilty might assuage our feelings at first, it is really only
a short-term solution. It is all too ironic that being hard on
ourselves is the easy way out. If we truly are able to gaze upon our lives
through the lens of compassion, however, we will be able to see that there
is much more to what we do and have done than we realize. Perhaps we
were simply trying to protect ourselves or others and did the best we
could at the time, or maybe we thought we had no other recourse and chose
a solution in the heat of the moment. Once we can understand that
dwelling in our negative feelings will only make us feel worse, we will
come to recognize that it is really only through forgiving ourselves that
we can transform our feelings and truly heal any resentment we have
about our past.

Giving ourselves permission to feel at peace with our past actions is
one of the most positive steps we can take toward living a life free
from regrets, disappointments, and guilt. The more we are able to remind
ourselves that the true path to a peaceful mind and heart is through
acceptance of every part of our lives and actions, the more harmony and
inner joy we will experience in all aspects of our lives.