Healing the Heart

broken-heart-broken-hearts-6853604After being in a self-imposed news blackout for many years, I recently decided to start reading the paper again. Oy. Things are really messed up out there!

I see it every day in the news and I’m sure you do too. Terrorism. Suicide bombers. Mass shootings. War. Violence. Sexual predators. Human trafficking. Corrupt politicians. Greedy corporations.  

And then there are the folks ranting about how awful things are, inevitably pointing fingers and assigning blame. Then come the usual “solutions” — like passing more laws, harsher penalties, etc. As if …. Sure we can pass more laws, put more people in prisons, torture more terrorists and even kill more people. I guarantee you nothing will change as a result.

I also know nothing will change as long as we tell ourselves we are powerless.

Are you willing to consider the possibility that we
have the collective power to change things? 

As Nelson Mandela famously said “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” He should know. Mandela went from being a maligned political prisoner for 27 years to becoming the first democratically elected President of South Africa, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and global hero. He helped bring about the ending of apartheid, which I’m sure seemed impossible to many.

I think about my forgiveness clients – courageous souls who are healing their hearts using the power of forgiveness. I am reminded that so much (maybe all) of the wounding starts in childhood. Is it possible that unhealed hearts are the root of all evil?  

I’m starting to believe healing the world must start with healing our hearts. Someone with a healed heart does not destroy the environment, intentionally hurt others, ignore the plight of others who are suffering, or harm children – their own or anyone else’s.

And this is what forgiveness boils down to. Forgiveness is the means by which we heal our hearts. It allows us to return to love, no matter what has happened. 

If you want to make a difference, here are a couple of ideas.

Use the power of thought. As Wayne Dyer said: “If you can conceive it in your mind, then it can be brought into the physical world.” Let’s envision a world in which humans everywhere feel whole and connected to love.

Be the change. Commit to healing your own heart. Practice forgiveness. Reconnect with love. Cultivate self-love, gratitude and kindness. 

About Eileen Barker

EILEEN BARKER has been writing and speaking on forgiveness, and guiding people who need to either forgive themselves or someone else, for many years. A practicing litigation lawyer who rejected the traditional adversarial role, Eileen has focused her practice on mediation, helping thousands of people resolve disputes outside of court. This work led her into a deep exploration of forgiveness as it relates to resolving conflict and making peace, both with others and oneself.

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