Self-Love and Forgiveness

This episode deals with the topic of infidelity. Listener discretion is advised. (gentle music) (mouse clicking) Headspace Studios. (soft music) Hey everyone, it's Rosie. Welcome to "Radio Headspace" and to Friday. This week has been all about the art of forgiveness, and today we're exploring a topic that a lot of people have brought up to me, and that's the role of forgiveness in self-love. Now, we talked earlier in the week about the importance of forgiving ourselves and how we can move on from mistakes, but what if you make a mistake that feels like it defines you, something that you and others deem as inseparable from who you are? A few years ago when I was actively working as a mindfulness coach, I started coaching my now dear friend who I will call Diana. Diana was going through a hard time. She was in a 10 year marriage and had become romantically involved with someone she worked with. She knew she had made a mistake, a big one, and was overwhelmed by guilt and shame. Over time, her secret created a barrier and damaged the trust that she and her husband had built over the years. With a heavy heart, she decided to tell her husband what happened and acknowledged the pain she caused. It was a conversation filled with raw emotions and vulnerability. As they worked through their issues, they made the decision to stay together and try to work it out. In our sessions, Diana and I decided to focus on cultivating self-forgiveness. She also went to therapy and with a lot of work, she began to let go of self-judgment and embrace the possibility of forgiveness. When she understood that forgiveness is not just about acknowledging our own mistakes, but also showing ourselves compassion. That was a turning point for her. It was through compassion for herself and her husband that she was able to navigate the path to healing, and over time, they were able to move on together. Now, I'm not saying that every person in the situation should disclose or not disclose whether they cheated. That will be different for everyone. What I am saying is that many of us carry guilt and shame, but there's hope to recover from it. And as we all know, these difficult feelings don't just apply to infidelity. Maybe you can't forgive yourself over a crime you committed or shopping debt or an addiction. We are all capable of making mistakes, my friends, and at some point or another, we're in need of forgiveness. Self-forgiveness is not about excusing our actions or erasing the consequences of our mistakes. It is about facing our shortcomings with humility and having a genuine desire to make amends. And this ties into self-love, because you have to care enough about yourself to heal. You have to believe that you are worth all the work to forgive past mistakes. So with all that said, I wanna share some ways that you can...