Not Even Water: Forgivness

Day 25 of 30

Nelson Mandela said forgiveness is the liberation of the soul. In another quote, he said:

Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.

What we can take from these quotes is that forgiveness is more about healing ourselves than forgiving others, and that holding on to resentment is painful. You feel it in your chest, it consumes your thoughts, and worse of all the negativity you have towards others takes away from the positivity you have in your life. Resentment is a weighted vest you carry on behalf of the one who harmed you.

When you resent others, you want them to feel the same pain they caused you. Your thoughts towards that person revolve around all the bad things you want them to experience, and those thoughts lead to a downward spiral that only you feel. This creates an inner conflict because it’s impossible to hold two contradicting thoughts at the same time. You can’t think about peace while at the same time thinking about war, the same way you can’t think about someone else’s downfall while at the same time thinking about your growth.

The resentment you carry will impact your future relationships. Resentment blocks your ability to trust others, be fully present, and it will eventually cause distance in your healthy relationships. The very things you need to build a better future are being sabotaged by your unforgiven past.

Forgiving others doesn’t change how you feel about someone, it changes how you feel about yourself. Through forgiveness, you’ll take off your weighted vest and allow yourself to live with the lightness and freedom that you’ve been blocking from entering your life. Acknowledging and working through resentment in healthy ways to promote healing, forgiveness, and emotional well-being is important. Seeking support from trusted friends, family, or professionals may help navigate and release resentment.

During Ramadan, we often ask God to forgive us of our sins and shortcomings. We expect Him to forgive us because He is the Most Forgiving, Compassionate, and Merciful. We seek forgiveness because it gives us comfort. Giving forgiveness gives us freedom.

I call this series “Not Even Water” because whenever I tell someone I’m fasting from food and drink, they first ask, “Not even water?” So, for those of you wondering, no food or drink means nothing, not even water. I hope you learned something from this post and follow my journey.

Photo by Saffu on Unsplash