Decluttering Other Losses

Here's a new topic for this blog:
Forgiveness.

Hmm.

You know I like podcasts or videos that I can apply to my life. I've talked about grief and clutter, but what about the old clutter of frustration and resentment?

I am no expert on forgiveness, so I find the web's many resources educational and helpful. If you're looking for videos and articles on happiness in general, The Greater Good Science Center at University of California Berkeley (and no, it's not just for hippies!) is extremely grounded in research. Dr. Fred Luskin especially blew me away in some of his video clips on forgiveness--especially viewing forgiveness as a stage in the grief process. Grief as in something I didn't want to happen happened, and I'm experiencing a loss because of it. (This usually isn't about death--it's more about disappointment.) Like some others I've read, Luskin says you must go through your feelings before you forgive. Then you can let things go (although I would argue that feelings might come up again later....oh well!). He also stresses that simply because we are vulnerable to hurt, we'll get hurt sometimes. It's inevitable.

You can find a handful of clips from his presentation, but this one might be my favorite:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=50oNi4KUaqU