Photo by Alex Shute on Unsplash

As I have gotten older, I often think about the people I have harmed over the course of my life thus far...things I have said or haven't said; things I did or didn't do; relationships I took for granted; and friendships I did not nurture the way I wish I had done. At the same time, but to a lesser extent, I think of the people who have harmed me.

To varying degrees I have anger and resentments against some of those folks but I also carry some anger and sadness about myself as a result of how I treated others. Yet, I can't take back any of those things. I can't change the past. So, I have had to learn to practice the skill of forgiveness. Forgiveness of myself and forgiveness of others. I recently discovered a great podcast series hosted by Katherine Schwarzenegger (Arnold's daughter) that is devoted to the topic of forgiveness. The podcast is aptly titled "The Gift of Forgiveness" and my favorite episode involves Katherine interviewing a psychiatrist, Dr. Dan Siegel. In that exchange, Siegel offered some really powerful perspectives on the value and importance of forgiveness of self and others to realize good mental health.

You can access the webpage for Schwarzenegger's podcast series by clicking on this hyperlinked text. And, you can listen to Schwarzenegger's interview of Dr. Siegel below.