Letting Go

I've been betrayed by people I trusted with my life. It sounds dramatic, but it's true, and it broke my heart to realize that I was wrong about them. I would hold the heaviest grudges (Yes, I'm a Cancer) and think the most horrible thoughts towards them, not realizing those thoughts were also poisoning me. Eventually, I had to decide if holding ill will towards these people was worth dragging myself down; it wasn't. My only option was to forgive them, not because what they did was okay, but because I no longer wanted to carry around the burden of resenting them. I didn't call them or proclaim it online. I just did it in my mind, because I wasn't forgiving them for them, I was forgiving them for me. Forgiveness is putting your own peace over the resentment you may hold for others. It doesn't excuse what they did, it simply frees you from holding on to it anymore. It's easier to feel sorry for ourselves, and label others as the villains in our lives, but how long are we going to do that? Does it even help? Selfishly, I need to forgive others, because I only need to know that I can be forgiven for the dumb shit I've done. If you can't forgive, then I hope you live a perfect life that never requires others to forgive you. I've been the villain in the stories of other's lives, so giving and receiving forgiveness has to be a regular occurrence for me. What's something you've been carrying around for too long, that you can now let go?