• A couple of months ago, I would have been irritated at least all day over an incident like this one. Comparing that feeling of irritation with this new feeling of forgiveness is like a breath of fresh air. Instead of feeling locked into an irritable and uncomfortable emotional state, by contrast, I feel liberated, able to let go of this emotional discomfort. Ordinarily, I would have been drained of energy all day, but now I feel energized and somehow more empowered.
Now that he has been able to forgive, he is suddenly aware of how energized he feels. This is one reward of working from the heart—we have the strength to break free from the burdens of guilt and shame associated with our inability to face our internal shortcomings. To paraphrase a description from Lyricus, surrendering these iron weights of the ego to the gold of the heart is the beginning of liberation and a sense of renewed energy.
