When forgiveness is withheld in a situation among friends, loved ones or strangers, obstacles prevent a going forward. If left undefined these obstacles become difficulties, these difficulties become setbacks. Setbacks endanger our health.

Stories and memories of perceived error can plague, annoy and debilitate. A person will be changed forever if abandoned and left alone. If forgiveness is denied life loses its’ joy; enthusiasm will eventually turn to lethargy; stagnation will prevent success. What remains is a type of sadness that becomes a kind of grief that morphs into a profound sorrow of such heaviness the body wants to rebel.

Alcohol or pills or smoking may cause momentary forgetfulness while a combination of two or three of them may kill you. For the weak, for the stubborn, for the unfortunate, for the severely maligned and for the tragically hurt, death may appear as the perfect solution.

I think we can agree that fulfillment in life involves a measure of self-commitment, self-love. Both collectively and individually we need to be capable of being in our life, in the moment. Stuck in a perceived wrong, whether as the doer or the recipient, prevents us from moving forward. A thousand whys will follow. Do you have the answers that are not excuses?

Forgiveness means letting go, getting off the wrong. A memory that could rob you of time and energy through lingering for hours, days, even years, instead can become a thirty second pause in your life. When we forgive the rewards are peace of mind, a lightness of step, a healing sleep and a clear conscience.

The sun rises on a tomorrow.