I've been hurt in my life, badly, by cancer, by life and what it's put my family and I through, and by people we've encountered along the way. Cancer serves as the ultimate reality check, and you find out very quickly who your friends are and aren't. And if ever there ever were a time for family members who have never really seen eye to eye to set aside their differences, you'd think that a health crisis where one is fighting for their lives would be the time, but apparently even that isn't good enough for some. Betrayals, people who you thought were friends but weren't, and even family that damn well ought to have been there for you, but never were. All of this hurts, on top of how badly cancer is already hurting you.
Forgive them all, if not for them, but for yourself. You can't move forward in life in a positive manner, if you allow such painful feelings towards others to bog you down. I'm a damned Scorpio. I literally did not have the word "forgiveness" in my vocabulary, but I forced myself to learn. Why was I still experiencing periods of depression and PTSD even years after cancer? Because I couldn't release this pain that I had inside of me from being hurt, and I feared being hurt again. Love yourself, forgive yourself, and forgive others. Release yourself from this pain. You have enough to carry on your own. Extra baggage from others shouldn't be included, so let it go. They don't need to deserve it. It's not for them, it's for you. Forgiveness is the ultimate act of self-love.
StevePake.com
