Ask anyone you meet if they have ever been hurt by another.  You will hear a resounding YES! Now ask how they handled the hurt and you will hear many different stories about resentment, revenge, internalizing, depression, anger, and sadness but few stories about forgiveness.  Why?  Why would anyone hold onto pain if they don’t have to?  What is it in our nature to harbor ill feelings or hold onto past pain?  Studies show that holding onto emotional pain transpires into physical illness.  Dis-ease has been linked to our mental wellbeing.  If we have the power to heal ourselves, where do we start? What is Forgiveness?

• Forgiveness is not balance on the scales of justice

I read this somewhere once and it really hit home for me. For those of us who have been wounded deeply by others either emotionally or physically, accepting that the wound and the act of forgiveness are two separate things can bring a sense of freedom. It is more about...