why is it so difficult to forgive?

Why Is It So Difficult to Forgive?

http://www.elsabesmit.com

http://www.elsabesmit.com

• Forgiveness is not “I will look down on you and turn the other cheek so that I can be a martyr”

http://www.elsabesmit.com

• Forgiveness is not “I will be the judge, jury and executioner, and forgive but never forget”

http://www.elsabesmit.com

• Lack of forgiveness eats away at you • Cancer • Blocked arteries • Other ailments

http://www.elsabesmit.com

• What is forgiveness?

http://www.elsabesmit.com

• We have conflict throughout our lives and on many levels • Work colleagues • Friends • Relatives • Ourselves

http://www.elsabesmit.com

• We cannot avoid conflict • We are all actors on the stage

called life • Conflict forces us to learn about

ourselves

http://www.elsabesmit.com

• Sometimes the lessons are easy • Clash on a sports field • Forgive your opponent for

hurting you as part of the game

http://www.elsabesmit.com

• Other times the lessons are more serious • A friend stabs you in the back • You ignored the warning signals and

your intuition • You chose to let the situation get out of

hand

http://www.elsabesmit.com

• Do you say “Now I know that next time I should trust my intuition”?

• Do you say “that person is a so-and-so and I will never forgive him” ?

http://www.elsabesmit.com

• While you lie awake and get angry about how you were treated, that person sleeps like a baby and does not care

http://www.elsabesmit.com

• The lesson is all about • You • Your experience • Your understanding

• And none about the person you need to forgive

http://www.elsabesmit.com

• Why is it so difficult to forgive?

http://www.elsabesmit.com

• We get stuck on the thoughts of injustice

• We never move on

http://www.elsabesmit.com

• Ask yourself “What am I learning” every time the thought appears.

• Eventually the answer will appear

http://www.elsabesmit.com

• When you no longer have “negative” thoughts about the person you need to forgive, the answer appears.

http://www.elsabesmit.com

• When you fully understand, the knowledge is embedded in your body cells

• Then you have forgiven and you can move on

http://www.elsabesmit.com

• How long does forgiveness take?

• How long is a piece of string?

http://www.elsabesmit.com

• Start moving from resentment to forgiveness today

• Ask “What’s in it for me?” • Keep going until you have

forgiven all your enemies

http://www.elsabesmit.com

Thank You