You will discover as you tell your positive intention story that you feel better. One reason is that you are closer to telling a balanced story. This is because each of us has many experiences. Negative ones are not more important than positive ones. A grievance freezes a hurtful experience into an unchangeable solid. Then it rents too much space in our mind and leads to feelings of helplessness. The truth is that wounds hurt, but they do not have to be crippling.
Each of us can forgive those who have hurt us. When we put our grievances into the perspective of challenges to our goals, we are giving an accurate account. Everything that hurts us is a challenge to our happiness. It is a challenge to be happy in this world. Wounds can cripple the happiness only of those who do not know how to cope and forgive. Finding our positive intention helps us connect with the big picture. Telling a positive intention story reminds everyone who hears us that we are a hero and not a victim. We deserve the best, and forgiveness helps us find it.
— Dr. Fred Luskin, Forgive for Good, p. 153
Photo: Twin Peaks, California, January 1, 2020
I love this, Sondy. What a simple thing to remember, but not so easy to do. Thank you for sharing such an important message.
Thanks for commenting, Kerri! I *love* the book the quote is taken from, Forgive for Good. (Follow the link to my review.) More than anything else, it helped me forgive after a tough divorce. The insights still help me cope.