Dhaka,  Thursday
12 December 2024

The Infrequent Art of Self-Forgiveness

Published: 11:21, 1 November 2024

Update: 11:36, 1 November 2024

The Infrequent Art of Self-Forgiveness

I heard that it takes a sheer amount of strength to let go of grief and resentment. And a strength even more colossal to let go of the ones you cause yourself.

It’s easier said than done; the entire intricacy of letting faults go;
We’re humans, our imperfections are the brushstrokes of our being.
We’re humans, we heal, as well as wound hearts knowingly and unknowingly.
We’re humans, we don’t realize our capacity to love or to hurt oftentimes.
We’re humans, bound to make mistakes that become our light; leading our way towards growth.
We’re humans, we dream about our tomorrows.
We’re humans, we grow.
We’re humans.


There is art in recognizing how to heal from what hurts us. And embracing our imperfections makes us “perfect”. This is our journey — filled with a plethora of events that don’t define us, events that do define us, words we wish we hadn’t said, and words we wish we had said. Our regrets tend to be loud; as if we were bound in a chamber with those alone; haunting every step we take. Overpowering us. It makes us feel as if we’re fragile, yet;

Don’t we carry entire universes within us and weights only we can bear?

Easier said than done; it’s quite easy to remain stuck on incidents and mistakes we create or are a part of, revisiting them from time to time and hurting the same mind and heart that knows kindness, compassion, and love for others. What if we learned to treat ourselves with the same love we reserve for our known ones? What if we learned to be more appreciative towards ourselves because of the encumbrances only we know of, and the ones we deal with all alone?

Wouldn’t it be much much different for our inner selves if we showed ourselves the same kindness? Maybe then we’ll learn the difference between what changes us and what defines us.

Letting go could mean a ton of different things;

I believe that it means to forgive ourselves for what we thought was “best” during moments we regret later on. It means to not live on unintended hurts. It means to finally acknowledge that we are always learning. It means to exhale.

For, our time here could be called ephemeral and the time spent being happy with ourselves is even rarer; this world is transient and so are we all. Every relationship teaches us something and the unintended mistakes do not define us or those bonds that were created. So, let’s not spend these instances by punishing ourselves over and over again. Only we know what we go through. Everyone is flawed but we hold the capabilities within us to create enough beauty for this world.

“Change begins with you”
That could be labeled as the cliche-est quotation I have ever read but I fear Its meaning and weight exceeds its cliche-ness. Maybe because it’s true, it’s the right example of human reflections. Once we are kind to ourselves and have sufficient love for ourselves, we begin to extend the same pure love to others. It’s proven through the actions.

We’re humans; imperfect, messy, and flawed… yet we entail hope, beauty, and bountiful compassion within us. It is in loving ourselves and our humanity in its true state that we find peace and strength.


Shreyoshi Sharbojoya is an AS student of Scholastica with a passion for improving her own life and helping those around her.

 

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