I am starting to plan a women's retreat that will be on the Heart of Forgiveness so thought I'd begin to organize some of my thoughts here. We are all learning that forgiveness is something we do for ourselves not necessarily the other. And forgiveness does not excuse the behavior. What forgiveness does is bring back our own energy which has become stuck in the past around a specific event and/or person leaving us less than we can be in the present. When we forgive we reclaim a part of ourselves and are therefore more present in the now and better able to experience the full and rich life we want and deserve. I am exploring why it is so difficult to forgive others or ourself sometimes. What makes that hard? One thought I have is that by holding onto our resentment, even our victimhood, we might buy into the illusion that we are the ones who will mete out some judgment or justice. That isn't our job. That job belongs to the Universe which is All Just and from our human perspective we may not see exactly how that is true and yet need to learn to trust that it is. Part of our job is to have as conscious a human experience as possible and that requires all of our energy. As we forgive others and reclaim our energy our consciousness expands naturally. I would love to hear from others what your understanding and experience of forgiveness is. May your journey be delightful and gentle. In peace, Sage