"By forgiving someone else, and forgiving yourself, you take back your power."
-- Leonard Willoughby. Every Day Tao, p.100.
I've done some stupid things in my time. Some unconscious, uncaring, dumb ass things. Some of them I can look back on and laugh. Most I can look squarely in the eye and work through and let go. And each and every time I do, I notice how right Leonard is -- my power returns. Sometimes it's almost a visceral jolt of energy re-entering my system. Other times it's a more mild reabsorption of power, power that I didn't even know I had given away.
And the same is true with forgiving other people. When I can find it in my heart to let go of my hurt, my anger, or my confusion and simply forgive, my power returns. No longer am I projecting negative energy out towards a person who I feel wronged me. Instead, I re-own the energy by realizing that we all do some really stupid shit in our lives, and we all need forgiving.
It's like most important things in life -- it's simple, but not easy. Anytime you catch yourself condemning -- either yourself or others -- you begin to work with it. You peel pack the onion-like layers of anger, hurt, mistrust and condemnation until you get to the heart of acceptance. Acceptance is, in and of itself, a re-owning of power because you are no longer at war with reality, you are harmonizing with what is. It takes alot less energy to flow with than to fight against. Power saved is power gained.
And so, forgiveness isn't just some nice, little moral rule of thumb -- it's a practical, useful universal operating principle. Forgiveness grows personal power. The kind of power that you can use to be more loving, to be more authentic, to play and grow and share and discover, and, most of all, to really, truly enjoy your life.
