Like Drinking Poison?
Today is a very special day for many people. At sundown we began the 10th day of the 7th month on the lunar/Hebrew calendar, which is a day known as Yom Kippur- the “Day of Atonement.” In ancient Israel, the people would gather on this day and they would follow the biblical instructions given by God for receiving forgiveness and mercy. It was known as the holiest day of the year. On this day that I too find so special, I want to share with you some things about the importance of forgiveness.
I’m willing to bet that pretty much everyone alive today has been hurt, let down or otherwise disappointed by someone at some point in their life. When these things happen, it’s a normal and natural response to get offended. If the offense is bad enough, it can seriously affect our emotions, causing anger, rage, bitterness, resentment, and a host of other things.
On top of these personal offenses, in this hi-tech and overconnected world we live in today, we also have a barrage of media talking heads and politicians telling us that people who think different than us are our enemies, often leading us to be offended at them too.
All this combined can make for some serious problems if we don’t learn to let those offenses go. I don’t mean pretend like they never happened, but I mean releasing any desire for vengeance or any negative emotions towards the person or persons responsible for the wrongdoing. According to the Mayo Clinic, this will also positively affect your health by allowing you to enjoy:
- Healthier relationships
- Improved mental health
- Less anxiety, stress and hostility
- Lower blood pressure
- Fewer symptoms of depression
- A stronger immune system
- Improved heart health
- Improved self-esteem
This is probably why the famous quote about unforgiveness rings so true with so many:
“Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping that the other person will die”
Check out the full Mayo Clinic article by clicking here- Mayo Clinic- Forgiveness: Letting Go of Grudges and Bitterness
On a lighter note, did you happen to see the U.S. Open Golf Tournament last week? Muscle Activation Techniques’ (MAT) poster boy Bryson DeChambeau won it pretty decisively. If you follow the sport, you know that he is breaking all norms with his MAT principled training program and experts are already saying that he is going to totally change the game.
As you may know, I was mentored by Bryson’s “guru” for years, and am Master Certified in MAT. Here’s a recent article in Golf Digest about Bryson’s program including info on how he is incorporating MAT. Very cool stuff!!!