Paul Boese, a botanist who lived in the late 1600s early 1700s once stated, “Forgiveness does not change the past but it does enlarge the future.” I pondered on this quote, and the more I pondered the more aware of his words and meaning.

To forgive is not to forget, but forgiveness is the first step in healing ourselves.  We have to start somewhere.  Forgive someone that has wronged us, not due to the fact they deserve to be forgiven but only because we love ourselves so much that we don’t need to keep carrying the un-forgiveness baggage around.  Believe me it truly weighs you down.  How many people do you know including yourself that carry this heavy burden around all day and night with them?  They are the ones that have the bitter faces because they don’t know how to forgive another for their injustice to them.

To forgive means to heal.  Healing ourselves is the way to wholeness.  To be the best person we can be for ourselves first.  To forgive is to be noble.  I often state to people when I speak of forgiveness – “If our Creator has forgiven us so many times over for our failings, how can we be more powerful and Omni-potent than HIM and not forgive our fellow man.”  By not forgiving we make ourselves larger than life and larger than our Creator.  Believe me we are not that BIG my friends.

Forgive because we LOVE ourselves!

Learn then to forgive, you will get rid of so much weight and excess baggage off your shoulders and in your heart; but don’t forgive haphazardly, forgive with your whole heart – mean it – say it – you will release so much and not only that you will feel empowered!  Forgive your parents, your brothers, sisters, friends, forgive GOD!  Forgive yourself for all your mishaps and failings – acceptance will begin at that time.  So take the time to write that letter to someone that has wronged you, or make the phone call to let them know that they are forgiven.  It’s a beautiful thing and so much joy will be awaiting you.

The acceptance and love of self is to forgive.

You will definitely know when you have forgiven someone – when you see the person or a picture of them and it does not cause any emotional reactions.  Believe me its freeing – it’s an emotional release – it’s so healing and it moves you to a place of peace.  Going back to that quote from Paul Boese, our past cannot be changed, but surely our futures can be enlarged by the choices we make and my only hope is that someone can read this and it may stir a change in them in a way that they will either forgive someone or ask for forgiveness from someone in their life.

Remember, may the possibilities of today excite us all!

JOY, encouragement, forgiveness, inspiration, motivation encouragement, forgiveness, inspiration, motivation

There are 3 things that we know for sure about life:  it has a beginning, it will end some day, and we should make the most of it while in between.

It’s the gap – the in between that I want to write about today.

This is what I call the GAP – the place between 2 places.

How are you living in the gap? 

Are you living in a timid place full of fear?

-or-

Are you living in JOY full of laughter and peace?

To fully live life out loud means to smell the roses, enjoy the view, take the opportunity to meet and smile at a stranger and truly touch a life for that moment in time.

Sometimes we take life so seriously that we forget to exhale.  We run from one place to the next place and forget where we’ve been.  RUSH, FAST, HURRY is part of our vocabulary.  We don’t make time for ourselves because we’re too busy taking care of everyone else.  We even think it’s selfish to make time for ourselves.

Allow me to dispel that myth.

It’s okay to take care of yourself – to breathe – to exhale.

In my opinion, if you don’t exhale then you are probably almost on the verge of burnout.  It’s time to charge your batteries and take care of YOU.

So I believe there is a co-relation between slowing down and living your life out loud.

Do the things that matter most in life like spending time with your family, your loved ones.  Take the time to show the most important people in your life that they matter and you care.  Take the time to spend with friends.  Take that spontaneous trip.  In fact, I write this post on an airplane flying to Chicago.  My son is a pilot and he had sent me a text the night before stating he was flying to my town and if I wanted to catch a flight to Chicago with him since he had a few days off.  I pondered, and yes I was busy with work but I had the opportunity and I seized the moment – YES – I will!  Work will always be there, errands to run will be run, work will get done but precious moments with loved ones leave you with the memories of a lifetime.  So memories I created by going to Chicago with Kevin.

“There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy.” Robert Louis Stevenson

Remember, may the possibilities of today excite you!

Happiness, JOY, Uncategorized, inspiration, motivation Happiness, joy

Joy is a prayer – Joy is strength – Joy is love – Joy is a net of love by which you catch souls…Mother Teresa

This Christmas Season I want to make sure I express my gratitude to each one of you for reading my blogs and to my subscribers for being there for me with your comments of love and joy….by the way, this will be my last post until 12/31/11 when I will write about the Bubbly; a much needed break…..

This is the season of peace and joy and I wish each one of you God’s peace and joy in abundance…

We hear the words peace and joy during the Christmas Season, but how wonderful it would be if we heard these words all year through?

To live in God’s peace and his abundant joy is truly a blessing not only to us but to those around us.

What does living in peace, joy and happiness look like to you?

To me it looks like a life of serenity, mindfulness, awareness, inner strength and full of gratitude.  To be aligned with my GOD, my divine source – mind, body and spirit is a place of peace, joy and happiness….

Is it possible? – YES, of course it is –

According to current research, in the determination of a person’s level of happiness, genetics accounts for about 50 percent; life circumstances, such as age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, income, health, occupation, and religious affiliation, account for about 10 to 20 percent , and the remainder is a product of how a person thinks and acts.  In other words, people have an inborn disposition that’s set within a certain range, but they can boost themselves to the top of their happiness range or push themselves down to the bottom of their happiness range by their actions.  In my humble opinion, people’s decisions about how to live their lives affect their happiness.  I can get into the age old question of what is happiness but that will be saved for a later blog post.

Knowing that there is something bigger than us guiding our steps is a key element.  So in this season of joy, peace and happiness make sure you allow yourself this gift.  For it truly is a gift!  

My Christmas Wish for each one of you

A big, beautiful, heart full of love, with light beams that extend for miles and miles ahead washing away any sadness that may appear in the distance and replacing it with joy, wonder, belief in the magic, trust in the knowing, that we are all in this together and we are truly loved.

May God Bless Each One of You

And May HIS abundant JOY fill your hearts with LOVE….

Remember, may the possibilities of today excite us all….

Happiness, JOY, Peace peace joy happiness Christmas

Romcoms?  Starbucks?  Dinner with great friends?  Hiking in the mountains?  Dancing around the house…naked?  The holiday decorations at Macy’s?

This is a time to be unabashedly honest with yourself and NO JUDGEMENT ALLOWED!  Every time I sit down with someone in my cozy office (presently glowing with holiday decorations), this question inevitably comes up. 

“What brings you joy?” 

For a lot of people, the answer is, “I’m really not sure.”  I often get people staring at me in a state of wonder…wondering why answering this question hasn’t been more important to them before. 

Here is why taking the time to answer this question is indeed soooo important; it’s because, if we want to invite more JOY into our lives, we first have to know what makes us FEEL JOYOUS!  So how do we go about finding our joy?  The first step is to go out there and EXPLORE your world with fresh eyes, and a totally open heart.  Yes, I completely appreciate that this may sound a bit cliché and cheesy even.  However, hopefully you can get past that and really hear what I am asking you to do.  Exploring your world may mean, stepping outside of your comfort zone and trying new things.  If you find yourself sabotaging your attempts to explore, by hearing and inner monologue something like, “don’t try that you will hate it…” and so on, tell yourself, “thank you for sharing, but people change and I’m going to try it anyways.”

The fact that people are changing all the time, is a really important thing to take into account while exploring for joy.  People do change and something that you may not have enjoyed at one point may be something that you would really love now.   This is why having fresh eyes, and an open heart is so important while doing this!  One way to encourage yourself to explore your world a bit more, is to make a list of things you want to do this season.  It may look like…

1. Go Ice Skating, or a hike, or a walk on the beach (depends where you live)
2. See a holiday concert or show
3. Meet a friend for hot chocolate at a new coffee shop
4. Look at Ticketmaster and buy tickets to an event
5. Go to the Art Museum
6. Send out an inspiring email to your friends and family 
7. Try a winter sport that you thought you would never do
8. Go to a  holiday party that you would originally have declined
9. Go Christmas shopping in a town or city you haven’t been to yet
10. Take a kid (yours or borrow one) to see Santa

Your list can look like anything you want! So start exploring and getting to know yourself a bit more.  Start every morning with, “Hello JOY, this is _________, I want to formally invite you to spend the day with me.”  Will you feel a bit silly doing this?  Most likely, yes.  But, isn’t being silly a great way to invoke the energy of joy?

Wishing you a season of unlimited JOY!

Erin Williams, LMSW, BCD, CHt

www.healingplacecounseling.com

Erin Williams, Insight, JOY, inspiration, motivation joy