Mary Hayes Grieco talks about her recipe for healing emotional pain in this lecture taken from a recent forgiveness workshop.

Forgiveness is not what you thought it was – it’s so much better than that. It’s NOT: forgetting, excusing, saying it’s OK, giving up, being a doormat, staying open to further abuse, tolerating injustice, or reconciling and working things out. Forgiveness is the refreshing experience of letting go of unrealistic expectations that are causing you to suffer; it’s a private act that clears stress from your body and mind, turns your bad story into wisdom, and sets you free to move forward in a new and better way.

When we forgive someone, we are not saying that what happened is OK. If you have been wronged – by someone’s bad behavior, childhood abuse, social injustice, or an unfair life situation – that’s not OK! And it never will be. But even though a terrible thing has happened to you, you deserve to have a good life anyway, and that’s where forgiveness comes in. Most people don’t understand what forgiveness really is, and so they hold on to resentment, and resentment hurts you.

Mary's next Forgiveness workshop is happening May 1st - May 3rd in St. Paul, MN. https://www.forgivenesstraining.com/training-programs/the-wonderful-forgiveness-weekend/