don’t wait for an apology before you forgive

I’m sure you would agree with me that life becomes more streamlined and goes a lot smoother when we practice forgiveness and let go of our grudges. And this includes forgiving even those people who never authentically said they were sorry. 

Forgiveness is like oil in the machinery of relationships. When we hold grudges, we let the negative events from the past and all the toxic emotions that we experienced have a strong grip on us, thus ruining our inner peace and happiness in the present moment. If we want to protect our joy and our humanness so that we show up as the best versions of ourselves in our friendships and relationships, we have to let go of hate, anger and resentment. 

Holding on to hatred and grudges builds up negative emotions within us, that further create a stress response in our body. We feel heavier due to the emotional baggage that we carry around everywhere. With time, this can lead to some detrimental health consequences. 

Researchers have shown that how holding on to stress can lead to physical disorders such as hypertension (high blood pressure) and heart disease. Stress also leads us to participate in unhealthy habits and behaviors such as eating more junk food, compulsive shopping and binge-watching shows for hours. 

Basically, the more we hold grudges, the more we suffer physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. So the best thing that we can all do for ourselves is to let go of the toxic emotions and practice forgiveness, no matter what. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Forgiveness is not an occasional act. It is a permanent attitude.”

When we forgive others, we don’t by any means condone their actions; we simply free ourselves from negativity and the prison of victimhood.