When we hold onto resentment, the only person we are hurting is ourselves. Let go. Let go. Free yourself!

I love this quote by Carrie Fisher: “Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.”

She talks about resentment, but I have pretty much said the same thing about anger and blame and hate.  In fact, any negative feelings you hold toward someone else fits this quote well.

Why?

Because negative feelings hurt the feeler.  In very few cases does the other person even know – and if she knows, doesn’t even care – that you hate her or resent her or blame her.  But as long as you feel these things, you are burning up inside.  These feelings are poison, and they will eat away at you – all the more so out of frustration that the other person isn’t dying from the poison you swallow.

Is there an answer to this problem?  There is, but … you might not want to hear it.

Forgive.

You might not be able to forget, but you can forgive.  Yes, pretty much everything can be forgiven, no matter how odious the crime.  Forgiveness does not make anybody more or less guilty.  Nor does it undo anything that has been done.  But it does let you come to terms with what has happened and move on to live the rest of your life without a huge weight around your neck.

I am not saying that despicable criminals should not be brought to justice.  I am saying that hating and resenting and blaming them won’t bring them to justice – but it will unjustly corrode your own self.