Resentment vs Forgiveness: Which One Can Make You Sick?
Resentment versus forgiveness? That was a choice I faced after my divorce. I chose forgiveness but it wasn't easy and it didn't happen right away. I had to wallow in resentment for awhile which only added to my misery.
A great movie about resentment is "Grumpy Old Men". They make a comedy out of it but really, the feud takes up every bit of energy from the two main characters. It is a lesson about resentment being consuming, stupid and a poor choice.
Recently I watched the movie "The Light Between Two Oceans". There was a quote from that which inspired this post:
“You only have to forgive once.
To resent,
you have to do it all day,
every day.”
Resentment vs forgiveness: resentment is natural and we've all experienced it. Forgiveness? Not so natural and certainly not so easy. I've experienced both and believe me, forgiveness is a much gentler place to live.
Resentment can make you sick.
Forgiveness can heal you.
"What does Forgiveness have to do with Depression?" is a question asked on the Beliefnet site:
"Forgiveness is a hard thing to do", writes Nancy Schimelpfening, “but it can be so liberating to the soul. What makes it difficult for most of us to do is the way we define it. We think of forgiveness as meaning that we should say all is forgotten and things will go back to what they were. All that's really required is that we make the decision to move forward, to let go of the old hurts."
“We don't have to condone what's been done,” writes Schimelpfening. “What's wrong is still wrong. We don't have to invite the person back into our lives or even be friendly with them.
“What we do have to do is allow ourselves to release all the negative emotions associated with that person. As long as we hold onto the pain, we are choosing to allow that person's past actions to continue to hurt us. We can also choose to stop letting them hurt us."
Resentment vs forgiveness - maybe this next article will help you decide who's team you would rather be on.
Dr. Margaret Paul writes about "The Poison of Resentment" where she tells a story about someone famous who had a lot of reason for resentment:
"Actress Susan Saint James, in a TV interview after the terrible plane crash that claimed the life of her 14 year old son Teddy, and injured her husband, NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol, and her son Charles, made the following brilliant statement: "Resentment is like taking poison and then expecting the other person to die." Even in the face of her great loss, she is not angry, blaming, or resentful."
Resentment vs Forgiveness?
It's your choice.
FORGIVENESS IS A GREAT DEPRESSION GETAWAY, resentment is not.
WHAT ABOUT YOU? How are you feeling today? Is resentment an issue for you right now? Is there someone you need to forgive?
Don't give up! There is hope for depression.
