FIND YOUR HAPPY: An Inspirational Guide to Loving Life to Its Fullest by Shannon Kaiser Read Free Book Online Page A

memories of the people who touched our lives — family, friends, even a stranger we connected with in a random situation — that we will carry through eternity. Every person in our lives has a purpose to help us feel, grow and see ourselves in a new, more appreciative light.
    I spent much of my life holding on to resentments from past relationships that didn’t last. I carried a giant chip on my shoulder and made future predictions about men being cheaters and liars. I told myself lies to make my false generalizations seem more realistic. So, naturally, when a really nice man did come into my life, I would be so closed off I couldn’t see all of his princely charms. It took me many years to learn that past experiences do not have to dictate our identities or future. Most of us borrow fear from the past and project it onto the future. By replaying the “boy cheated on me” drama, we continue to make ourselves feel right by attracting the type of people who would cheat on us. This may feel a little heady, but bear with me.
    Think about a situation in your life that isn’t working as well as you would like it to be. Perhaps a boss isn’t giving you a raise. Your current relationship feels different than it used to. Perhaps you want something that you don’t have. One simple step is necessary to getting whatever we want in life: Release resentment. If you are carrying around resentment towards your boss because your raise is overdue, the single best action you can take is to release your energetic hold. By simply letting go of the past, we are set free.
    I spent ten years carrying around a resentment left over from a past boyfriend. Nothing particularly bad happened when we ended, but because things did not turn out the way I thought they would, I had resentment towards him and to all the men I dated. I thought because that one relationship ended that love wasn’t real and could never last. I had such a large chip on my shoulder that it made it impossible for anyone else to get close. Then on a two-week personal retreat to Paris, it hit me. I needed to forgive him and more importantly I needed to forgive myself. As soon as I did that something miraculously shifted inside of me. I felt more at peace.
    Forgiveness Will Set You Free
    When we choose to see others in a loving way, we are more connected to our true self. When we walk around with resentment, we tend to push people away and create more stressful situations. People come into our lives to teach us about ourselves. Every person in your life is there to help you in one way or another. Buddha said, “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” When we forgive people, they can be free to be themselves. When we forgive people, we feel less resentment and blockage allowing other opportunities to come into our lives.
    Sometimes people do things that really hurt. Our natural response is to get angry. We may even feel justified in wanting to “get even” with anyone who inflicts injury on our family or ourselves, but revenge will only create more suffering. You will feel more empowered when you forgive a person for their ill will because all actions of hate are just a cry for love. When someone does something unloving or unkind, it is a simple cry for a hug. Most of the time things happen out of emotions that separate us from happiness. Jealousy, manipulation and sabotage are all ugly disguised cousins of fear. Fear dresses up in many hats, but it always does one thing to us: it makes us act in ways we don’t normally want to.
    Fear traps us in our own thoughts of separation. The endless rage, resentment, guilt, and anger drain the life out of everything we do. By learning to recognize fear and say, “No way, not today,” we can step into the light and learn to use loving thoughts and forgive others who hurt us. We say hurtful words to loved ones when we feel threatened or feel