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InnerSelf's Daily Inspiration
August 12, 2024
The focus for today is:
I apologize in order to right the wrongs I have committed.
Today's inspiration was written by Barry Vissell:
Hurting another person is inevitable. Most of the time, we do not intend to hurt someone, but still we may. We may be insensitive with our words or actions or even our lack of words when words are needed. We may hurt someone through miscommunication or lack of understanding.
Sometimes we hurt someone intentionally, like when we are angry. In either case, we need to apologize in order to keep growing spiritually. The results of a sincere apology are often amazing. Most people feel lighter right away after apologizing, as if they have let go of a heavy burden.
Apologizing and asking for forgiveness are two very different things. Apologizing doesn't ask anything of the person we have hurt. It doesn't depend on what they do or how they feel about us. The person may or may not accept our apology, or may even choose to stay angry at us. What the other person does is out of our control and really doesn't matter. Apologizing is simply our own work on ourselves, our own righting of the wrongs we have committed, or in 12-step terms, it is "making amends."
CONTINUE READING:
Today's inspiration was adapted from the InnerSelf.com article:
Real and Sincere Apology: A Vital Life Skill
Written by Barry Vissell.
Read the complete article here.
This is Marie T. Russell, co-publisher of InnerSelf.com, wishing you a day of apologizing and forgiving as needed (today and every day)
Comment from Marie: We all make mistakes, say a hurtful thing, oftentimes without knowing or intending it. When we realize we have hurt someone with our words or actions, an apology helps heal all involved. We have to ignore our ego and listen to our heart and make an apology when it is appropriate.
Our focus for today: I apologize in order to right the wrongs I have committed.
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RELATED BOOK: Heartfullness
Heartfullness: 52 Ways to Open to More Love
by Joyce and Barry Vissell.
Heartfulness means so much more than sentimentality or schmaltz. The heart chakra in yoga is the spiritual center of the body, with three chakras above and three below. It is the balance point between lower body and higher body, or between body and spirit. To dwell in your heart is therefore to be in balance, to integrate the lower three chakras with the higher three.
Click here for more info and/or to order this book. Also available as a Kindle edition
About the Author(s)
Joyce & Barry Vissell, a nurse/therapist and psychiatrist couple since 1964, are counselors, near Santa Cruz CA, who are passionate about conscious relationship and personal-spiritual growth. They are the authors of 10 books, their latest being A Couple of Miracles: One Couple, More Than a Few Miracles.
Visit their website at SharedHeart.org for their free weekly 10–15-minute inspirational videos, inspiring past articles on many topics about relationship and living from the heart, or to book a counseling session on-line or in person.