When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free. ~ Catherine Ponder
Oh the power of resentment! Long ago, I spent a great deal of unproductive energy resenting others, whether for their words or actions. My thought was that by resenting them it somehow made them more wrong and me more right. In reality, holding onto these resentments barely affected anyone but me and, in this, it made my life much more difficult than it ever needed to be. I was living and breathing negativity and allowing the poison which accompanies it to seep deeply into my soul. In this state, it was not only difficult, if not impossible, to be truly happy and healthy in life, but I attracted other miserable and dysfunctional people into my world. If you’ve ever spent appreciable time with a group of this type people, you know it is highly unlikely anyone will emerge from the association happier and healthier. In fact, these type interactions tend to feed off themselves and become even bigger, uglier, and spread even more strife.
Over time, and with the help of some wonderful and positive friends and a bucket of courage, I have learned how to let go of resentments and become a far happier person. Am I Susie Pollyanna Sunshine each and every day? No. Am I happy more often than I am unhappy? Absolutely!
Granted, we all have experiences or circumstances which can bring about some degree of resentment. The trick, however, is not to dwell in it. The way out of it for me is not allowing it to accumulate or, worse yet, splashing it about so others may take notice and join in the resentment party you I am hosting. Trite as it sounds, I have to let it go. I do whatever I must to move through the resentment to the other side. I dissect it, figure out my part in contributing to the situation, make any apologies I should, forgive myself and whoever I believe has offended me, and I. Let. It. Go. In this, not only do I find myself more calm and better able to handle other perceived offenses which come my way, but I find fewer of them and I am better able to decline to participate in the next resentment soiree I encounter. ~ Mk Michaels
