Today’s gratitude is for Seeds of transformation planted by my sister, Mary Rose. I’m celebrating my 60th birthday with 60 days of gratitude for people in my life.
My gratitude today must begin with an apology. I’m sorry that I wasn’t a better big sister, a kind and caretaking big sister to my little sister, Mary. I was mean to her by kicking on her mattress on the bunk bed above mine, trying to get her to stop rocking herself to sleep. It didn’t occur to me to hold her or sing to her or tell her a story.
When she was pregnant for her first time, feeling really crappy all around, I practically scolded her for not doing things the way I thought she should be doing them! I’m sorry, once again, that I didn’t know how to affirm her and love her just the way she was and just be there to suggest gentle next steps.
And again, when Mary Rose offered a song for our family gathering to remember our dear niece Naomi, I discounted it, which upset her and left her feeling unwelcome and ostracized. And I was totally oblivious to what I had done!
Still, somehow, Mary Rose. and her husband, Vince, have weathered my self-righteous and arrogant bossing, parented four loving children, and coordinated annual retreats for spiritual growth. And they still talk to me! In fact, I credit Vince with introducing me vicariously to the tools of Radical Forgiveness which have implemented my transformation from arrogant, self-righteous sister to grateful and compassionate one.
This turn-around is actually a perfect example of the worldview at the foundation of Radical Forgiveness. That’s the view that at the soul level we have chosen to be with others who help us experience the OPPOSITE of what it is we came to Earth to experience. It’s by knowing the absence of compassion, in this case, that both of us can come into an experience of compassion. So, from a Radical Forgiveness view, Mary Rose and I have been doing a healing dance with and for each other. We were not aware of that, of course, as children and young adults. But, having now awakened to that possibility, we can be open to it and see what we have done and what we have been for each other. Make sense?
In 2007, when I was leading my first Radical Forgiveness Circle Ceremony, I invited Mary Rose and Vince to join the circle. I wanted someone in my family to be there to support and witness my graduation into this new way of being. They graciously accepted my invitation and squeezed the quick trip into their busy lives to participate. I was honored by that! I didn’t realize at the time just how influential the tools of Radical Forgiveness would be in the following years for helping me choose a new path for my life.
Today, I’m getting ready to lead another Radical Forgiveness Circle Ceremony – as the featured workshop at their healing retreat! It’s quietly magical how the seed that Vince planted has worked in the soil of my soul and now I can give it back for us to nurture together. I am grateful for my sister, Mary Rose, for dancing with me even when we didn’t know it!
******************************************************************************
Do you have something from your past that you want to forgive yourself for? The tools that I used to do that myself are powerful, and actually pretty easy to use, if you’re open to the idea that what happened in your past had a purpose.
What really worked to help me forgive myself for being mean to my sister was the 13 Steps to Radical Self-Forgiveness. The simple process and especially the song helped me let go of the guilt and shame from my past and come to a new realization and acceptance of myself that on a spiritual level my sister and I were doing a healing dance with and for each other.
I’d like to share this with YOU!
The first 10 people to schedule a one and a half hour ($67)
“Heartsingers Self-Forgiveness Experience”
will receive a FREE 13 Steps to Forgiveness cd ($13 value)
To schedule
send me an email at regina@forgivenesswalks.com
with the subject Self-Forgiveness and Free cd
and a short description of what you want to forgive yourself for
I will respond and we’ll set up a date to meet by phone for your Heartsingers Self-Forgiveness Experience
contact me today, and you’ll soon be singing along with me,
“I’m working on forgiveness, working really hard
‘Cause I’ve noticed how it lightens up my spirit and my heart…….”
~Karen Taylor Good