12/22/2021
'Tis the holiday season once again, complete with the excitement and stress, the exhilaration and the resentments. It has been such a hard year for various reasons, and many of us are feeling less than jolly. Added on to the stress of daily living was the stress from smoke and fire. Added on to the stress from last year is the unrealized expectation that the pandemic would end. We can start to put blame on one another, or feel hurt when others put blame on us.
Forgiveness can mean different things to different people in different circumstances. In general, it means the letting go of hurt, resentment and thoughts of revenge in order to bring forth understanding and compassion for the offending party, which allows for freedom from the hurt and anger that was caused.
Forgiveness has a big role to play in health. An article on the Johns Hopkins website discusses how acts of forgivenenss can lower the risk of a heart attack, improve cholesterol levels and sleep, and reduce pain. Forgiveness reduces inflammatory markers in the blood and improves mood disorders. It definitely reduces stress. In fact, feeling disappointed or hurt puts you in fight or flight mode, which increases inflammation and decreases your body's ability to fight disease.
Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself. Listening is a gift we give others.
"It takes a thousand voices to tell a single story." -Native American proverb
