I am almost embarrassed by the fact that while I knew forgiveness intellectually, I didn't really learn the heart-lesson until 10 years ago when I had a great learning experience regarding forgiveness. My mentor, a consultant hired by our corporate office, leveraged the difficulty in the relationship I had with our division general manager to his advantage. By indicating that he was still needed beyond his contract because the division general manager and I were not getting along, he prolonged his lucrative consultant income.
I was eventually relieved of my managerial role so the consultant could continue his monthly visit to manage and lead my department. I was deeply hurt and profoundly resentful. I became exhausted carrying this load of pain and then I finally realized that holding this anger was not honoring or serving anyone, least of all, me.
After reconnecting with my spirit, I knew that I had to forgive him. The next time he was in town, I apologized for my behavior and told him that I forgave him for his part in reinforcing the wedge between the divisional general manager and me. The immediate sensation I had was lightness. I could hardly believe how physically light I felt. I was nearly giddy with delight and wondered what had taken me so long to get there.
“Forgiveness corrects the misperception that we are separate from each other, and allows us to experience a sense of unity and at-one-ment with each other.”1.
With love,
Maria
1. Gerald G. Jampolsky, M.D., Love is Letting Go of Fear, p. 66
Content copyright 2012. Dr. Maria J. Church. All rights reserved.