Forgiveness

Forgiveness can be a gift that we give to ourselves.

Here are some easy steps towards forgiveness:

* Acknowledge your own inner pain.
* Express those emotions in non-hurtful ways without yelling or attacking.
* Protect yourself from further victimization.
* Try to understand the point of view and motivations of the person to be forgiven; replace anger with compassion.
* Forgive yourself for your role in the relationship.
* Decide whether to remain in the relationship.
* Perform the overt act of forgiveness verbally or in writing. If the person is dead or unreachable, you can still write down your feelings in letter form.