I’ve sometimes wanted to grasp onto my anger, pain, and feelings of victim-hood, and never let go. They helped to define me and my situation, and it sometimes felt good to throw myself a big old pity party. It is only when I came to realize the gifts that I received from those who had done “terrible” things to me–the growth that came from it, the ways that I grew stronger, more compassionate toward the suffering and pain of others, etc–and how much my unwillingness to forgive was holding me back and robbing me of joy in the present–that forgiveness became easier and more desirable. I ended up forgiving others as a gift to myself, one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever given or received.
With Love,
Russ
Russ Towne's A Grateful Man 
Beautifully put Russ! There is an energy that goes along with being “right” and “righteous” when we feel wronged. It feeds the ego but eats away at the soul. Its almost addictive, but when we see how it actually harms us we can let it go. Its more than a gift to ourselves its for necessary for our spiritual survival 🙂
Thank you for taking the time to add your detailed interesting insights to you your comment, Val.
I like this post it is so true the power of forgiveness is often understated
Thank you, Joanne. I appreciate your feedback.
Russ
You are a much bigger man than I, sir.
Thank you for your kind comment, Koji. I must respectfully disagree. Through your blogs, comments, and posts, I have experienced a depth of compassion, kindness, understanding, wisdom, and love toward others that I believe are signs of high levels of greatness and goodness, all attributes that I greatly respect and admire. I’m proud to call you my friend.
Russ
Wonderful perspective…one that I believe takes a lot of courage to see. Blessings to you.
Your comment brightens my day. Thank you and blessings to you.
Russ
Thanks for the reminder. And one note is that we need to keep on forgiving to prevent that pity party creeping back.
An excellent point, Elizabeth!
Russ
Forgiveness is divine.
It certainly is a gracious thing to do. Thank you for your comment, Ahmed.
Russ
So true! I found the book “Little Soul and the Sun” to be a great book to remind me that I need to forgive.
Thank you for the book suggestion, Misifusa. I plan to keep the title in mind the next time I’m in a bookstore (which is fairly often.)
Russ
It’s a keeper…helped me to forgive which for me was priceless.
Priceless indeed. Congratulations for giving yourself such a wonderful gift so that you could get unstuck and move on with your life..
It was that ‘change the way you look at things and the things you look at change,’ quote from Dr. Wayne Dyer along with the key points in this book that made the difference.
That has certainly been my experience. It is amazing to me as to how powerfully transformative this simple shift in viewing things is. Like nearly everything else, letting go is a choice. It wasn’t always an easy one for me to make, but I have never regretted letting go. Each time I did it changed my life in many wonderfully positive ways.
I agree! ♥