A friend recently shared this image on Facebook. It touched me, so I decided to share it on my page and write about it. I noticed a comment by another friend that read, “Where is the Love button?” That question made me start wondering where and how would love fit into what is being expressed in this image.
I can truly connect with what is being stated here. I know through my experiences that apologizing does take bravery. Especially when you too have been wronged by a person, it takes courage to put that aside and be the first to come forth accountable for your actions and with a sincere apology. Forgiveness takes strength as forgiving involves putting your own hurt and pain aside and making a conscious choice to move forward, beyond that hurt and pain. That conscious choice requires strength for success. Forgetting takes happiness and in my mind, also brings happiness. When we allow ourselves to fill with happiness there is a lot less room within us to hold on to those hurtful memories. The happier we are the more we will find ourselves forgetting.
So I began to wonder, where does love fit in? What does it take to be the first to love? If you love first what does that mean? It hit me that love is the answer. Love is what happens when we are able to do all of these things. As the ability to apologize, forgive, and forget are acquired our hearts expand and fill with love. Love for ourselves, which results from discovering that we are brave, strong, and happy and love for others because we have set ourselves free from the burden of past hurts and wrongdoings. The more we continue to apologize, forgive, and forget the easier it becomes and the more our hearts expand. We grow in bravery, strength, and happiness. We grow in love.
Again, great post. It is only in recent years that I had masterd the lesson you preach here. It was a long time coming but once able to embrace this as the key to happiness and learn we need not hold on to unnecessary baggage for fear of stumping our own individual growth it allowed me to see past the pety of some things that have weighed me down for eons. It takes a strong person to do each but it takes a stronger person that is willing to understand themself FIRST before any of this is possible. Like with most things, time healps in our restoration. Wouldn't it be great is we could just hold on to this lesson from the age we are taught it and not cmplicate it with emotion as we grow? To be able, like a child, to apologize, forgive and then forget? How great a world would we have. here is to hoping everyone on the planet reads this post and can identify with it and ultimately identify with themself. I applaud you here. What a great subject to take on in a post. This is the sort of quick little nugget that cna have such a positive impact on a person's life in the just the short time it takes to read it. You have a way with words. This much is clear. - S
hane Smith
I love your comparison to children here. This is exactly what they do. If we all could see just how much there is to learn from our beautiful children!!!!
Growth has been a huge topic on my mind lately. It's good to be reminded of the qualities inside myself I can work on in order to grow and learn. Most of all, it's important for me to remember to love. :) Great post Jen. xo