Live with Oprah tonight. Join us!
Last week while working away on my 3rd book I got an email from a producer at Harpo. She asked me if I had time to talk. I thought well this is strange why are they calling me Oprah ended her show. I spoke with the producer who was calling about a letter I sent 4 years ago on the topic of forgiveness. I mentioned that I was on the show last year reading my cousin’s apology and talking about Erin’s Law. She remembered the show and told me she needed to go do her homework and would follow up. I thought that would be the end of it but it wasn’t.
For the next several days last week we spoke on the phone. I was asked about my feelings on forgiveness and I told her exactly what I talk in depth about in my 2nd book Living For Today.
Chapter 9 is called “The Final Stage in Healing” and I start off saying. “It is the F word people struggle to say. No I am not talking about that four-letter swear word people slip out in anger and frustration. I am talking about forgiveness. It is the stage in healing that seems unimaginable. It is a word I never thought I would say to the men who hurt me. For many years I was consumed daily by feelings of anger and rage towards Brian and Richard. There came a point in my healing that I realized I cannot change what happened, but it did not mean I had to stay stuck in an unhealthy place either. Everyone in life has been hurt in one way or another through the actions or words of someone else. We can choose to stay angry and bitter towards those who have hurt us, or we can let go and live fulfilled lives, not being tied down by our pain but instead rising above it and growing from it. Forgiveness is a choice we humans can make.
I end my 2nd book with this on page 246. I have repeated it over and over in the course of writing Living For Today, and I will repeat it just once more: Forgiveness is what set me free. Choosing to forgive has led me to live for today.
Tonight I will be sitting in on Oprah’s Life Class talking about “Letting Go of Anger” and then immediately following is her webcast where you can join us in the live discussion tonight 9/8c. There you will see me asking Oprah a question on forgiveness. I think it is a pretty powerful question and not sure how she is going to answer it. I guess we will find out tonight. Click below to log on tonight and join the conversation and watch live.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/oprahwinfrey
Final thoughts
For you to Give: Forgiveness is something for you to give. You will realize how you are truly giving yourself a gift by forgiving and it is something for you to give when you and only you are ready. You will notice a total transformation in your life and the feelings of anger, rage, hatred, and bitterness will lift and suddenly you will feel peace, comfort, and healing. You will realize the day you learn to forgive is the day you stop allowing the actions of someone else to not steal another moment of your life and happiness. The choice is yours.