INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"Forgiving those who hurt us is the key to personal peace."
 
~ G. Weatherly
 
HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE HAPPY?
 
You've been hearing about this sort of thing on the news lately - people who have suffered a terrible loss at the hands of violent criminals, but still find it in their hearts and minds to forgive those who have trespassed against them. Their interviewers pose questions like, "How in the world can you forgive the man who killed your daughter?" or "How do you find the strength to be pardon someone who has wronged you so horribly?"
 
These people are often guided by their faith, but they sometimes surprisingly answer that their anger and hatred would simply kill them if they did not find a way to get rid of their negative emotions. Before they find a means of forgiveness, they develop ulcers, grey hair, migraine headaches, digestive disorders, and so on.
 
These people end up realizing that the only way back to health - both mental and physical - is to come to peace with the tragic events that have affected them. They come to realize that they have no control over these events, and they even discover a way to erase any of their own guilt associated with the events. Anger, accusation, guilt, hatred - we all know the mental toll that these emotions take, but all these emotions eventually manifest themselves physically as well.
 
Hopefully you haven't experienced the kind of loss that these people have, but you can try to learn their difficult lesson. Let go of negative emotions associated with things that are out of your control. You can find personal peace and well-being in the satisfying feeling of forgiveness. It may not even be a specific person that you are forgiving, but maybe just a set of unhappy circumstances.
 
Take steps this week to identify something or someone that you feel negatively about. Search your heart and your mind for a way to understand that the longer you feel so badly, the worse it will continue to make you feel. Take back the control you've relinquished to people and circumstances around you. You can rise above the negativity around you and create something positive and inspiring.