Forgiveness

I want to talk about forgiveness. For me this isn't a religious thing or a bishop you repent to. For me this is a lifestyle. That might sound strange but that is how I see it. Forgiveness might partly come naturally to me...my mom and brothers are also very forgiving and kind-hearted people. But in most cases I don't even start out by judging someone so there is no need to later forgive them. All I know is that along with it being a natural personality trait, I also make a conscious effort every day to be that way. I believe it is never our place to judge...ever!

There have been times in my life that I felt absolutely overwhelmed by the unconditional love and acceptance that I've experienced, even with all my short comings and mistakes. I don't think I could ever accurately express the way those people made me feel but I do know that I always want to be that person for others.

I didn't fully realize until more recently that the people we surround ourselves with IS A CHOICE, including friends AND family. (I also believe we can create our own family, which sometimes is better than blood) Why keep people in your life that aren't inspiring you to be better, helping to lift you up, and who truly want you to thrive, on your terms, not there own. My epiphany was this....I like positive people. I love funny people. I enjoy deep and interesting conversation as well as silly immature moments. And I don't need to keep people in my life that are negative more often than not just because they are "family" or because we've been friends for ten plus years. I feel good about this! ;)

I just want to leave this post by saying that I hope you are always trying to be less and less judgmental and more and more loving every day. Most likely you are hurting yourself more than the other person when you hold on to hate. I think that we all naturally want to just love each other...so just go with the flow.

xo Samantha