Stop beating yourself up!! You are a work in progress; which means you get there a little at a time, not all at once. At times, we all act unconsciously and without consideration for others, resulting in us hurting or disappointing others. And, when you allow yourself to be honest about those behaviors, without the judgment of shame, you in all likelihood will be left with feelings of remorse, which is a quality you and I are actually quite lucky exists. Remorse can help us refine our actions and to live a more authentic life-in a way which is more in alignment with who we are today. It does not mean that you are useless and unworthy or that you made some horrible mistake beyond repair. It simply means that you and I are human, and that like all humans, we are in a learning process. In fact, remorse can be a sign that we are becoming more aware, more awakened to what was previously unconscious, allowing us to grow out of that awakening. However, if you move into shame and beating yourself up, you stop yourself in your tracks, get stuck and likely remain in the mistake, and deprive yourself of a lesson learned and opportunity to do things differently moving forward. Today, begin to acknowledge, in order to keep moving forward in the face of remorse, you need to be able to find compassion and forgiveness for yourself. Today find the courage to open your heart up to yourself and then allow forgiveness to slowly emerge. Today, know that when you acknowledge, forgive, and let go, you will learn to make peace with the feelings of remorse and regret for having hurt yourself and others. You will learn self-forgiveness and eventually, you will learn to forgive those who have harmed you too. Forgive yourself today.

Just for today, I am willing to forgive. My heart opens inward. I now move through forgiveness into love. I forgive myself for not being perfect. I am living the best way I know how. As I forgive myself, it becomes easier to forgive others. I forgive you for not being who I wanted you to be. I forgive myself and set myself free. I am safe and all is truly well in my world. And so it is.