Sometimes it feels as though someone has pushed the ‘pause’ button on my life. I look at everyone around me, racing around with their lives progressing. I feel incapable of simply placing one foot in front of the other even though all I want to do is run as fast as I can. To where? I don’t know. There are other times where I feel as though my life is in ‘rewind’. I am faced with the same events time and time again. Although I know little about life, I know that time does not stop for anyone. It is always sixty seconds to one minute, sixty minutes to one hour, and twenty-four hours to one day.
The realization that time never stops can be sad, helpful, or uplifting. For me, it was helpful. I was sitting still, watching everyone run by me in a blur. I saw everyone moving forward and decided that I did not have the time to sit and watch. After an unexpected series of events in my life, I needed to move forward. It seemed as though the world as I knew it was falling apart and I could not sit and wait for it to pick itself up.
There are lots of people that have let me down and done things that have hurt me, someone close to me, or themselves; whether it is intentional or by mistake, I believe in forgiveness. Forgiveness is the recognition that that what happened, happened. Regardless of how badly I may want to go back in time, time machines do not exist. No matter how much regret I may have, the only option to let go of that regret is to forgive; forgive myself for the decisions I, and others, have made. Everybody deserves a smile with no regret. It also takes a lot of energy to be angry, I feel exhausted, as though I am constantly battling a windmill. Forgiving someone can liberate the suffocating feelings of loneliness, sadness, anger, or despair.
By preaching my belief in forgiveness, I hope others being to believe as well. I, too, have done things that I am ashamed of and that have hurt others. With their forgiveness, there would be fewer awkward situations and less anguish. Life is too short to be stuck in ‘pause’. The truth is if you spend your life in ‘pause’, you are missing opportunities. The earth will continue to rotate and the sun will continue to rise. When I finally had the strength to push the ‘play’ button, I was able to see the beauty in life again. Forgiveness is associated with the release of tension and hostility. Most importantly, I feel better about myself. With less time sulking and dwelling, I have more time to be happy.
If there is one thing that is truly contagious, it is emotions. One burst of laughter makes a bad day better, or transforms a good day into a great one. Forgiving the people from my past was the best decision of my present and for my future. This I believe.