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REFRESH THE SOUL
Take Steps to Forgive Yourself So You Can Forgive Others
Curing versus Caring
I know. It’s hard.
This isn’t about curing yourself. It’s about caring for yourself. Big difference. To cure is to put a band aid on emotions, because to cure suggests trouble is over. You’re cured!
I love how Thomas Moore describes this in “Care of the Soul.”
“A major difference between care and cure is that cure implies the end of trouble. If you are cured, you don’t have to worry whatever was bothering you any longer. But care has a sense of ongoing attention.”
Taking steps to forgive yourself takes ongoing attention. You won’t magically be cured and never have to forgive again, unless, of course, you’re not human. What will happen over time is your heart will begin to soften and expand, so forgiveness will come more freely towards others.
If you’re human, then you’re going to mess up and you’re going to say things that you don’t mean, and you’re going to do things that require forgiveness towards yourself. And guess what? When you open your heart to forgive yourself, it will become easier to forgive others.
Maybe there are a host of things flooding into your brain right now that you think require…