It is no big surprise that forgiveness is the key to emotional freedom, but, in most cases, forgiveness is easier said than done. But why?
Why Forgiveness of the your own Parents is Important – and So Difficult
Forgiving your parents, whether you be young or older, helps you with current and future relationships. First, you must realize that blame, anger, and various related emotions are defensive guards that protect you from future harm. Since true forgiveness requires you to release this defense, the very act of forgiveness creates emotional risk. Therefore, to forgive your parents, you must trust they won’t hurt you again, but, the hard truth is, you can never be certain – there is no way to control or predict another person’s behavior, and sometimes loving people do hurtful things.
If you are still vulnerable to being hurt, forgiveness could destroy the only defense you have, and, if this is the case, your protective ego will not allow you to forgive. Therefore, before you can forgive, you must eliminate the risk of emotional harm, and this inevitably means self-responsibility.
Responsibility Before Forgiveness
There’s no way around it, as long as you blame or shift responsibility in any regard, you give others the power to hurt you, and as long as you give others the power to hurt you, you’re going to be hurt. Therefore, the only way to prevent emotional harm is by releasing blame and taking full responsibility for every emotion you experience, but there is no point assuming responsibility if you don’t also uncover the dynamics behind your childhood issues. To make yourself immune to emotional harm, you must pinpoint the hidden cause of your childhood wounds, and then you can learn how to heal it.
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About Lori Denman-Underhill
