Most people struggle with forgiveness, precisely because it is against the nature of our reason to forgive. Forgiveness doesn't make emotional sense to us, much less appeal to our pride, although it might sound great in theory. Our reason and emotions prefer the logic of justice, an eye for an eye, a hurt for a hurt. Forgiveness seems to fly in the face of that, as if we are letting the person who wronged us off the hook. Forgiveness is a challenge meant to cleanse the window of your mind, particularly those through which you can see only your need for personal justice. You can't see anyone else's pain through these windows, because like mirrors, they reflect only you: you are the centre of the universe, yours is the only pain that counts, and all that is just and fair should be based on what serves your life. But forgiveness releases you from far more than the individual with whom you have a painful history. It releases you from an ego state of consciousness that clings to a need for justice built around the fear of being humiliated, based on prior experiences of humiliation. Forgiveness is essential to healing. Forgive the past, accept what cannot be changed in your life and be present to you life as it is right now.