Hello Readers,
‘SORRY’. This one little word can sometimes feel like the biggest of all, but a heartfelt apology really can heal wounds and restore relationships. Saying sorry is perhaps the most under used resource for making things better. It has the power to save marriages, restore families and friendships and sometimes be more effective than making practical amends. Even in business, let down customers are far more likely to remain customers if they receive a genuine apology rather than be fobbed off with excuses and a pay-out.
So many people would rather choke than apologise even if it means a good friendship ending, with both parties feeling bereft afterwards because the guilty party refuses to show any signs of humility and understanding by simply saying they were sorry. An apology can actually bring people closer together because the person who apologises shows empathy and respect for the recipient. If you say sorry it shows that you care enough to humble yourself and admit you were wrong and t can bring you so much closer to the other person. When you don’t apologise and offer an explanation, even if you never repeated the behaviour again, the wronged party can’t ever be certain that you actually grasped your mistake or regret your actions about the pain you caused. Wariness grows resentment, distrust and distance.
Some people believe that offering an apology is a sign of weakness, that it leaves them open to ridicule, but in fact it’s also a sign of arrogance and a refusal or inability to understand other people. Some people genuinely believe that they are always right, even when they are wrong, they are still right and will find a way of wording their story, twisting facts around just to make them sound good and of course, in the right. Nothing is ever their fault, it’s always someone else’s and they would rather lose a friendship and sit and sulk for ever and a day rather than put their hands up and admit that they were wrong. Sorry works when a mistake has been made but not when trust has been broken. So in life, make mistakes but never break trust. Forgiving is far easier than trying to forget and learning to trust again. Sometimes that can be impossible. Never believe that you are so great, or proud or important that you cannot kneel at the feet of someone you have hurt and offer a humble and sincere apology.
Admitting a mistake is not a weakness. On the contrary, it shows an openness of your heart. It takes guts and courage to admit you are wrong and say you are sorry. Only a strong, well balanced individual with clarity of mind can do so effortlessly. Taking personal responsibility for your actions requires and develops your self-control and as a result, you become your own person.
When you forgive, you free your soul, but when you say sorry, you free two souls.
Until next week,
Love and Light,
Linda And The Lulas xxx