Seventy times seven, that is real love.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/85608594@N00/14479145173

To error is human, to forgive divine!  We say these words, we sometimes believe them, but how often do we display them in our life on a daily basis? Forgiveness goes hand in hand with love, and love as is the case, is the foundation to our life and to our being here right now.  We were intended by love, formed by loved, and sent here to love.

We have been taught to forgive.  Forgiveness is often tested when the ones you love the most continue to do things that cry out for forgiveness.  The question then becomes how often and for how long are we supposed to turn the other cheek and simply forgive?  Those who are in need of forgiveness probably never give it much thought, but those who are having to forgive often find themselves at odds with what to do.  How often are you supposed to forgive someone?  Christ said that you need to forgive "Seventy times Seven."  That's a lot of forgiving, but the forgiving is not so much for the person who did the wrong, but for you.  Living with unforgiveness in your heart toward another is not going to really affect the other person, it is going to affect you.

As His Holiness the Dali Lama said just because you forgive someone doesn't mean you have to accept what has taken place.  If someone is doing physical harm to you then don't be stupid and just sit there and take it time and time again.  Get out of there, and don't let the door hit you on the butt on your way out.  Forgiveness means releasing your feelings and emotions about an event so that you are not trapped in it for years and years.  There have been instances in my life when I have had to go to someone and ask them for forgiveness because I was having a difficult time forgiving them for something that had taken place.  Now your average person is thinking what an idiot I must be to think that I am the one having to ask for forgiveness and I was the one who had the wrong done to them.  Certainly on the surface it makes little sense, but walking around unable to forgive someone for something that happened is only going to make matters worse for you.

Unforgiveness is like a noose around a neck, and the longer you let it operate in the your life, the tighter and tighter the noose gets until you have cut off your airway and then it's all over for you.  I would like to think that I do very little that would require someone to have to forgive me.  That being said, I know that there are times when I don't always act as I should and in those actions I have hurt those I love and those I know.  I would hope that they could find it in their heart to forgive me, and in that forgiveness build a bond that is almost unbreakable.  If you can find the strength to forgive an evil done to you, then you will find love rushing back to you.

If you truly love someone then you have to forgive them for what ever it is that they have done.  Mind you, you don't have to accept the actions or the ramifications of their actions, but you do have to forgive them.  Funny thing love:  isn't it easier to forgive someone when you really love them, verses someone who you really can't stand anyway?  I mean if you dislike someone and they have done you wrong, how easy is it for you just to turn your back and walk away? (Albeit muttering words of hate and discontent all the way home.)  On the other hand, how easy would it be just to simply release the hurt, shower them with love, and know that you are not going to be bound up with anger and frustration because of a stupid act of whatever it is they did to you?

Will you be tested "Seventy times Seven" by the same person?  Maybe, but even just two or three times is enough for most people to turn their backs on someone and never wish to lay eyes on them again.  Once again, if you see forgiveness as more for you then the person who did the wrong, then it is so much easier to extend that forgiveness because it is for you.  Forgiveness will take the sting out of most anything, and it will allow you to receive love back from the Universe.

I know how hot headed I can get at times, and it is when I let my emotions get the better of me that I often lash out at someone and then I am feeling guilty because of my actions.  I hope those who have been the recipient of these moments could or would choose to forgive me.  I am just as likely to need forgiveness as anyone else out there, but I would be a hypocrite if I could not forgive someone a wrong while at the same expecting someone to extend forgiveness my way.

Here's the bottom line:  forgiveness is easy when it is covered in the power of love, and when love is operating in your life on a daily basis.  I can assure you of this, if you are unable to forgive, then it will difficult for you to walk around in love, and if you are not able to walk around in love, then you will undoubtedly never walk fully in your destiny.  There I said it, you may not want to hear it, but I said it anyway.  Destiny is linked to love because your destiny was placed in you when love created you.  Unforgiveness means you see yourself as more important then others, and that is nothing but pride, and pride will stop destiny all the time.

I know how hard it can be to forgive at times, but I also know how much harder life will be if you continue to walk around unable to forgive others.  Take a minute and quietly release those who have done you wrong in the past.  Shower them with love, they won't even know you"re doing it, but I assure you the Universe will know, and then you will get back more love then you could possibly imagine.  It is time to extend forgiveness, and in doing so take a giant step toward a richer and more fulfilling life.