I just finished watching The Shack, which I loved. And I had also read the book, which I also loved. And I won’t spoil the ending, but there’s a part in the movie/book about forgiveness that had me all in my feelings.
I struggle with this word a bit. I understand that when you forgive, it literally frees up space in your body for new feelings to emerge, which is wonderful. But forgiveness to me feels so onerous. Like it feels really difficult to do. And there are so many other difficult things to deal with in this life, I kinda sorta feel like forgiveness doesn’t need to be one of them.
So instead of forgiveness I’m offering another option: reframing the story. When you reframe the story, you remove blame and simply view the facts of the events and then change your response. Now it sounds simple—and it is—but it’s not exactly easy. Although I feel like it’s easier than forgiveness. And I still feel like you’re freeing up space and allowing yourself to create a new, healthier story around that old event.
I’ve done this with big stuff in my life, but I feel like it’s time to also do it with the smaller things that weigh me down as well. It’s a great way to get unstuck and move forward out of past pain. And since I’m a storyteller, I feel like it’s a very effective and natural tool for me. Hopefully, it will continue to serve me well.
n
Leave a Reply