A Blessing of Forgiveness: For Yourself and for Others

Several years ago, one of my closest girlfriends, Jill, shared a song with me, “Thank You,” by Carrie Grossman. It was this time of year, the season when the tradition is to ask forgiveness of those we have harmed. The song was beautiful. It pulled tears straight out of my heart.

At its core are these eleven words:

_{I’m sorry.
Please forgive me.
Thank you.
I love you.}

Years later, while studying to become a transformational soul coach, I learned where those four sentences come from. They are a modern prayer drawn from Hoʻoponopono, a Hawaiian practice of reconciliation, forgiveness, and mental cleansing. The name translates, roughly, as to make things right.

I have come to see it as an invitation to choose gratitude over anger and resentment. It is a way of speaking soulfully to the Divine, to your higher self, to another person, to say you are sorry, to ask forgiveness, to offer thanks and to express your love.

I have said these words out loud and in silence. Recently I guided beloved spouses through them at the bedside as one was releasing in final transition. It was powerful for the one speaking and for the one receiving. Standing beside someone while their tears fall, holding steady so they don’t have to, is sacred ground that I am deeply honored to partake and to witness.