Nelson Mandela was in prison for 27 years. 10 years in he made a conscious decision to forgive his jailers and forgave them. He knew otherwise his time in prison would break his spirit. Not long after this, they stopped beating him. He knows a thing or two about forgiveness and I think this quote is so true – “Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies “.

When he was finally released from prison in 1990, he called not for revenge, but for forgiveness and reconciliation

When he was elected leader of South Africa one of his jail guards became one of his bodyguards.

Forgive, let go and in the end this gives you freedom 

So WHY forgive? 🤔

Because holding a place of “I am not willing to forgive”, you are affecting your own well-being, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

People often hold back on forgiveness because they think it condones betrayal or abuse from the other person. 

It doesn’t. Look at Mr Mandela…..

However, as long as you resist forgiveness, you are giving the other person or situation power over you. 

You are allowing yourself to be held hostage. 

In a way, forgiving others is selfish because you are choosing freedom for yourself over blaming someone else and staying a victim 💚

“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies “

Nelson Mandela

Here is a really short little video about Forgiveness – you can watch the rest of the A-Z of Self-Love Playlist too!

What Louise Hay has to say about Forgiveness

Louise Hay says it much better than me, of course: “ We are the ones who suffer when we hold on to past grievances. We give the situations and the people in our past power over us, and these same situations and people keep us mentally enslaved. They continue to control us when we stay stuck in “unforgiveness.” This is why forgiveness work is so important. Forgiveness—letting go of the ones who hurt us—is letting go of our identity as the one who was hurt. It allows us to be set free from the needless cycle of pain, anger, and recrimination that keeps us imprisoned in our own suffering. What we forgive is not the act, but the actors—we are forgiving their suffering, confusion, unskillfulness, desperation, and their humanity. As we get the feelings out and let them go, we can then move on. “

We are never ever done with Forgiveness which sets us free – follow this link to find out more about my Love Yourself Coaching Sessions and how we can work together.