Forgiveness gives you a clean slate to be your best

I had the radio on the other day and "The Heart of the Matter" by Don Henley came on. That song meant alot to me way back when and its inspirational message came through once more.

A part of the lyrics goes like this:
The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I'd figured out
I have to learn again
I've been trying to get down
to the heart of the matter
But everything changes
and my friends seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore

Forgiveness is a key element in relationships, isn't it? Forgiveness begins with the self, because after all, you can't give something which you don't have. And if you're hard on yourself, do you think that you may possibly have a grudge with another also?

I find the cycles of life quite intriguing. The ebb and flow, the good the bad, the rich the poor, the friends the loneliness. We all long for good times, happy times. But life doesn't always work that way. The contrast seems to present itself to help us in making better choices along the way. Without being able to anger somebody, there would be no need to see how we could make another happy. Without lack or limits, there wouldn't be as much appreciation for any amount of abundance.

But through it all, we find ourselves in it all. The whole world really does revolve around you! And it also revolves around me. We are each at the center of our world. Being able to forgive, yourself, then those in your world, gives you a new start, a clean slate. We all make mistakes and to hold those mistakes against another causes us to re-live the past. In forgiveness, we can value somebody just for who they are, today, even if they don't love you anymore.

Therein lies freedom to be all that you can be today, without the burden of the past, therein lies the Heart of the Matter. This freedom allows you to follow your bliss, to live your bliss, to be your bliss.