This latest ‘feel good moment’ is a perfect example of why I love to blog. I received an email the other day from a colleague telling me that one of my previous blog posts had given her inspiration to try and mend fences with a family member. Anytime I hear stories like this, it just really warms my heart, because again, this is the main purpose for my blogging – to inspire people to help themselves. And any real-life examples of that put an immediate smile on my face.
The post in question was my June 2018 contribution entitled Behind the Smile – The Dark Side of Fame and Fortune. where I discussed the recent passing of Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade and how you never know what demons a person is battling behind that seemingly happy and normal persona. The added message in this post was that you always want to try and make peace with a loved one you may be in conflict with, because you never know how much time you really have left. This part of the post, in particular, inspired her to reach out to this family member in the hopes of making things right.
And while we can’t expect dramatic changes overnight, she felt confident that by subtlety reminding this family member that you are better off getting over an argument sooner than later, she can only hope that it resonates with them enough to at least ponder the idea of making things right.
I find that it’s too easy to just continue holding grudges with others. It’s a negative feeling that is all-consuming and hinders your ability to be truly happy. You may be at odds with people that you want to be closer to (such as the case in the story I shared) or it could involve people that you had been close to at some point in your life but fell off with not under the best of circumstances.
Regardless of the situation, forgiveness is liberating. You do it for yourself and for your inner peace, first and foremost. Forgiveness is universal as well because it gives you the vehicle to reconnect on a whole new level of understanding and care for a person with the hope of developing a stronger bond.
On the other hand, forgiveness can also allow you to make peace with those that you don’t foresee a re-connection with for the mere fact that your lifestyles simply don’t mesh and that you’re probably better off on separate paths, but at least you’ve shown them that you’ve let go of all the anger and bitterness you once harbored, and that you truly mean well for them and wish them happiness in their life.
Ultimately, reaching out to make amends with someone for your own inner peace is what sets an ordinary person aside from an extraordinary person.
Sarah Warsi 