The quote below is attributed to Mother Theresa. While I’m quite certain others have seen and spoken this truth before and since Mother Theresa’s days on earth, I’m content to give her credit.
“If we really want to love we must learn how to forgive.”
I’d like to take a little poetic liberty with her statement. The version below might very well be implied by what Mother Theresa said.
If we really want to love ourselves we must learn how to forgive ourselves.
While she may have been speaking about forgiving others, I think Mother Theresa would want us to extend the same grace to ourselves – to forgive ourselves. Our reluctance to do so may be why we sometimes carry a lengthy list of our past failures around with us, unfairly coloring our perception of ourselves. Forgiving self is essential to loving self.
To be clear, I am not saying to ignore the lessons offered by past mistakes and misbehavior. But (SPOILER ALERT) nobody is perfect! Learn from the mistakes and move forward. Mess up, ‘fess up, wise up, get up, don’t beat up, and get back on track!
Forgiving ourselves is a key to loving ourselves and eventually, when we can see ourselves differently, we will treat ourselves differently. http://ow.ly/i/zPVih
