Days 7 & 8: Forgiveness

"Even monkeys fall out of trees" is my favorite saying when it comes to forgiveness. Days 7 & 8 of the Giving Challenge brought me the opportunity to give myself the gift of forgiveness. Just like the monkey who occasionally falls out of a tree, I have stumbled along my life's journey. Particularly in regards to personal relationships. Recently, someone I cared about hurt me and this triggered childhood wounds. In the beginning of feeling hurt, I was able to express my feelings openly and honestly. And when they weren't heard, I found myself becoming angry and resentful towards this person. In typical inner child fashion, I lashed out with my words, making a snide comment and telling this person how rude he was being. This, of course, triggered him and an argument ensued. After some TLC from loved ones, and working out my feelings, I was able to forgive myself. I am only human. I have hurts, triggers, and wounds like anyone else. I make mistakes and poor choices at times. But rather than beating up on myself, focusing on the negative, I decided to validate and understand my behavior and feelings. My little inner child needed nurturing from me, not criticism. This in turn gave me the ability to forgive the other person. And while I will never see him again, I feel good knowing that I hold no ill will towards him or me. We are both little cheeky monkeys who fell out of our respective trees.