By GG Renee
Hurt people hurt people. Sometimes we silently hate each other. Sometimes we destroy things and lash out. Sometimes we self-destruct. Long-term suffering and hopelessness can detonate and break things and burn them down. When fear is passed down, spread around and conditioned as the default method of survival, chaos is inevitable.
Healing is a way to be responsible for the space you take up in the world and the energy you give off. When we choose to take care of our souls and heal, the cycle of resentment and retaliation halts. When we remove bitterness, hatred and blame from our hearts, we make the world a little less toxic as a result.
Forgiveness teaches us how to survive in this world. It teaches us that awful things happen and nothing is guaranteed but when we choose to love and have hope anyway, we can still lead fulfilling, joyful lives. We must forgive our friends and foes, our circumstances, our fears, our yesterdays and tomorrows. We must forgive the injustice we have seen, the pain we have felt and the opportunities we have missed. We must forgive ourselves and the rest of the world for our collective humanness and all the ways we’ve forgotten how to love. Healing, I’ve learned, is a matter of forgiveness.
When we close ourselves off and let fear block the light, we only suffer and cause others to suffer. Forgiveness teaches us that we can’t feel selectively. When we become numb to pain, we also become numb to joy. When we become numb to ourselves, we also become numb to others.
You might think that your healing doesn't make a difference to society as a whole, but it does. Multiply your pain times all the people in the world and you'll see why we are so divided. We all handle pain differently. We think we are right and they are wrong. We build walls and defenses that we believe will keep us safe, and we walk around in armor made of fear instead of love. Many of us look around and want to do something but we think we are too small to make a difference. But healing, I’ve learned, is also a matter of activism.
Healed people heal people. We send loving kindness to one another. We build each other up and share ideas. Sometimes we self-motivate and start revolutions. Long-term gratitude and resilience pays off and gives birth to miracles that erase our doubts and give us courage. When this love is passed down, spread around and conditioned as the default method of survival, hope is inevitable.
So you see, it’s not just for you. Heal yourself. Heal the world.